The Soulbound Princess
by fleets
Summary: Sequel to Demonbound: After a scuffle with a powerful assassin, Vaati is turned into a Minish and is brought to the brink of death. Zelda saves him by sharing her Triforce, but at a cost: the two now live on borrowed time, and one must eventually die for the other to live. Can they learn to say the things that need to be said before it's too late? VaaSheik [Sheik is gendered male]
1. Transient Peace

fleets: Hi everyone, miss me? Probably not, considering it's only been 3 DAYS since Demonbound Sheikah ended and I started this new story, Soulbound Princess.

Guys I'm really excited about this story, and I hope you are too. I have a few things to say before I start this story. 1.) This story is VaaSheik. Notice I did not say VaaZel. If you want to read a VaaZel by me, I'm going to point you over to When I Return and its sequel, because that one is a VaaZel. While Zelda=Sheik in this story, I do write Sheik differently enough that I think it's a relevant difference (for a more in depth talk on this, I discuss all of this on one of my tumblr posts under 'thewishingcap.').

2.) SHEIK is GENDERED MALE in this story. He prefers male pronouns, and thus will not be referred to as 'she/her' whenever we're talking about him as a character. Don't ask me what's in his pants because that's irrelevant and I don't care. What's important is that he prefers he/him pronouns. I treat him as one (important) facet of Zelda's personality.

That said, some parts will look a lot like VaaZel. Fine. They're the same person after all. But even when she's Zelda, she's still pretty 'Sheiky.' That's where the VaaSheik comes in.

3.) This story is fairly AU. It follows no particular time line, and pulls in different characters based on certain traits that I found useful/interesting for the story line. Please do not try to correct me about timeline/canon because this is an AU.

4.) If you found yourself here before reading Demonbound Sheikah, you will be very confused as this is a _direct sequel_.

I think that's all for the ground rules. I promise future AN's won't be so long. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you enjoy this story!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Transient Peace**

It was late afternoon at Hyrule Castle, and the bustle of visitors had long since died down. With the guards dismissed, only a few people remained in the throne room. A young man sat above on the window's ledges, and he was barely noticeable to the casual passerby as he blended in with the shadows along the walls.

Vaati lazily picked at the dirt under his fingernails as he eavesdropped on the conversation below. He could have easily done the same by letting his sentry eyes, small bat-winged eyes about the size of a nectarine, to spy on them, but he'd come to prefer a more personal touch in the recent months. The skills he'd picked up from Impa and Sheik during his time at the castle had been extremely useful, and he'd learned from them that magic, while powerful, wasn't the answer to everything.

Vaati brushed his pale lavender bangs away from his face and adjusted his cowl. He'd always had a habit of tugging at his hat back when he was the Sorcerer of Winds, and although he no longer wore his hat, his habit of constantly adjusting whatever was on his head persisted.

Thankfully for Hyrule, his habit for trying to conquer the kingdom hadn't. Sheik had long since stopped questioning why, however, when Vaati continued to dodge the topic. Vaati sometimes thought about what Sheik had said to him several months ago, under the summer sun in what had been one of the best days Hyrule had seen in a long time. "I still don't know who you are," Sheik had said, when he couldn't understand why Vaati had remained with the Sheikah after everything they'd done.

Frankly, Vaati wasn't really sure he knew the answer to that, either, especially considering how the Sheikah had mucked up his memories before he'd been put back together again. Once upon a time he'd had a burning drive to conquer Hyrule for his own, to have people kneel at his feet. Sure, he still wondered about that from time to time, but the drive had diminished to mild curiosity. Once upon a time he'd wanted nothing more than to crush the Sheikah and the entire royal family under the heel of his boots, but his interest in that had vanished as well. After all, he enjoyed Sheik's company, which was saying quite a lot considering he'd had few, if any, individuals he'd respected much less enjoy the company of. Sheik was witty, a skilled fighter, and, somewhat surprisingly, valued the same kind of unchained freedom he did.

He'd wondered before whether or not his fierce loyalty to Zelda, one that had almost been possessive while he'd been 'Gufuu,' had simply been the product of Twinrova's brainwashing. As Gufuu, he'd been fixated on his 'mission' to protect Princess Zelda. However, even after his memories had returned, his feelings hadn't diminished, and ever since then it had filled him with intrigue. His interest in the princess hadn't been something falsely created by Twinrova. It had been real.

He remembered when the princess had first caught his eye. Or, rather, ears. He'd found out that the princesses of the royal family carried with them a great power, comparable to that of the goddesses themselves. He couldn't help but be interested about the person who seemed to have everything he wanted: the crown and raw power.

And when that same person led to his first downfall, to be sealed in the cursed sword, he'd become obsessed. Obsessed with destroying her rather than protecting her, but obsessed all the same.

He'd encountered her again after he'd escaped the Four Sword. She hadn't been the same person as the first one he'd met. She was older. More rugged. Mature. Someone who'd seen far more bloodshed than the one he'd first encountered. However different she was, in many ways she was still the same. She still had the crown. She still had the power.

And once again, just like before, she'd led him to his defeat, though this time by her own hands rather than with the help of the hero. He remembered his heart racing from excitement, excitement to find out what those fierce eyes, sharp like a hawk's, would look like after he'd beat her. And then, he'd lost, his enraged obsession growing before he lost himself in darkness.

Now that he was back to himself again, after spending time with Sheik as Gufuu, his anger had gone but his intrigue remained. He'd had the chance to get to know the princess as more than just an abstract concept. He wasn't obsessed with destroying her, but he couldn't stop thinking about who she was. What she was doing. What made her tick. He and Sheik had gone through so much together that he almost felt like it was his obligation to make sure no one bothered him. Sheik, Zelda, Hyrule…

All of it was _his_.

Perhaps when he was bored with how life was proceeding he'd pick up where he'd left off with the conquest campaign, but he had plenty of things to do that interested him now.

Red eyes gazed down at the two individuals who were talking below him. Their discussion was becoming increasingly heated as it went on, and Vaati's cowl hid the growing frown on his face. One of them was the young but competent Princess Zelda, and she stood poised in her high-collared pink dress trimmed with gold. The other was her guardian and senior Sheikah, Impa, who could somehow sneak undetected even with her bold blue uniform with red-orange accents.

It was only after spending time with the Sheikah that Vaati truly appreciated Impa's skills. She'd already caught him doing things he technically wasn't supposed to be doing a few times, when he'd been convinced she wouldn't find him. He didn't like to admit it, but he'd been humbled by how much skill could compensate for raw power. He had power, but not the level of skill Impa and Sheik had that could only be obtained with rigorous training.

"…for the best. And Vaati, why don't you stop eavesdropping and come down to join us?"

The sorcerer flinched when he suddenly heard his name from the conversation below, and then he scowled. How did that woman always know where he was?

Vaati floated down from the window ledge to join Zelda and Impa. He caught Zelda flashing him a quick, exasperated expression as though to say 'Ugh, help.' The sorcerer had always been good at picking up the princess's subtle, nonverbal messages. People thought she wasn't expressive as she often wore a passive, 'proper' mask, but an attentive individual could see that the brief arch of her brow or faint glimmer in her blue eyes actually said quite a lot.

Vaati shot her a devious grin, and then turned to Impa expectantly.

The guardian sighed, and then continued her discussion with Princess Zelda. "At least consider this, princess. You've been running off as Sheik more and more, lately, and poor Daphna has been pretending to be you so much that she might as well be the real princess of Hyrule."

Zelda bit her cheek, and her tired tone suggested that she'd already gone over this conversation at least once before. "I'm still contributing with my efforts to help restore Hyrule. It's not like I go out and do nothing while I'm Sheik." She flashed Vaati a warning look when the sorcerer smirked at this comment. She didn't need Impa to know that, while there were many days where she _was_ making a difference in helping the kingdom, there were also plenty of other days where Vaati had managed to convince her that a day off was exactly what she needed. Bastard had a way with words that was impressively persuasive. "Is it so awful that I want to leave this… this life from time to time? I never asked to be the princess, but I try to because I know it has to be me. I try, but I can't do this all the time."

"If I had the crown, I'll let you run off and be Sheik all you want, princess," Vaati winked.

Zelda held back a snicker when Impa looked at them both like an exasperated mother who was looking after two unruly children. "All I am asking is to at least consider this proposal regarding the ball, your grace."

At this, the sorcerer perked up, his back straightening from his normally slouched posture. "A ball?" he asked. He gave a not-so-subtle glance at Zelda standing next to him. He imagined her in a ball gown, something beautiful and exuberant fitting for the occasion, and then he imagined himself in the same ball wearing the kind of rich, high class attire that he hadn't been able to enjoy since he'd relinquished his former throne to join the Sheikah. He decided he was on board with Impa's idea. "That sounds refreshing. Intriguing."

"The people of Hyrule want to host a birthday celebration for her Grace who would be turning twenty in a week from now," Impa explained, while Zelda looked just about ready to throw her hands up in the air.

"Impa it's not even _the people_ of Hyrule, it's just a bunch of grubby nobles who want to gain my favor," she said.

"And these nobles can help Hyrule with their resources."

Vaati's grin had long since fallen into a frown. "Wait. It's your _birthday_ in a week?" His confident expression with his typical conniving smirk was replaced by one of surprise. "I wasn't told about this," he muttered, clearly offended that he was one of the last ones to know about the princess's birthday.

Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose, irritated that everything seemed to be going wrong at once. "Vaati I'm sorry, I don't really like birthdays and it's really not important to me," she explained, waving her gloved hand defensively, trying to appease him. "So can we please not make this into a big fuss? I have other things to worry about," she added. Vaati was someone who could hold quite a long grudge, and she really didn't want to deal with a sorcerer throwing a hissy fit because she'd forgotten to tell him something that she didn't think was all that important. She watched Vaati, her mouth thinned into an aggravated, thin line. She could tell that, while he wasn't going to press her about this at the moment, he was probably going to be passive aggressive about it later.

She really didn't understand what the big deal was. Since when did he care about things like silly like birthdays?

Oh well. She could always give him a what-for if he was too annoying about it.

"Hyrule is still recovering from extensive damage. If these nobles can be convinced to help, then it can be substantial for recovery efforts," Impa continued, bringing the conversation back on topic.

"They should be helping anyway… without having me bat my lashes at them," Zelda grumbled.

"We shouldn't invite these nobles at all," Vaati agreed, still a little irritated that Zelda hadn't told him about her birthday. "Still, I agree with Impa here, princess. You need to celebrate when you can. Just you and me. I'll treat you."

The princess looked from Vaati to Impa, both of them waiting for her expectantly. "I don't have a choice, do I," she finally said with a sigh and a small smile on her face. "All right, I'll do it. Let the people know that I'll gratefully accept their celebration."

"Wait… what?" Vaati blanched, his smile briefly appearing when he heard her agree, before it flipped upside down into a shocked frown at the mention of others. His hands waved vaguely in the air as though he weren't sure what to do with them, and he looked at Impa and Zelda incredulously. "Did you listen to a word of what I just said?" he asked.

Impa ignored him. "Yes your grace," she gave a small bow to Zelda before addressing the sorcerer without looking at him. She spoke firmly, "Vaati, you'll join me in the patrols to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Now hold on just a second," Vaati shook his head, pointing his finger towards the ceiling in an authoritative manner. He strode over to Zelda, annoyed. "You don't have to celebrate with people who don't care about you. It's your birthday, you should-"

The princess held out a hand, stopping him. "Thank you, Vaati, but Impa is right. Hyrule needs me to do this."

"If you want the nobles to help, you know I can be convincing."

Zelda shook her head, her mind already made up. "I don't want you to push it, Vaati, the people think you're dead but if you go too far, even the blind will become suspicious. Your convincing ways have been a bit much sometimes."

Vaati knew what the princess was referring to. Over the last several months, through threats ranging from mild to questionably severe, he'd "convinced" several of Hyrule's wealthy to serve him. He didn't see what the problem was, since he was helping, but Zelda wasn't overly fond of his brash methods. He argued that he got results quickly, while she chided him for being too impatient. He was about to argue, but he could see her point about people becoming suspicious of who he was; it would become a nuisance if word got out that the Sorcerer of Winds hadn't actually died.

The sorcerer's clenched fingers relaxed, but not before he muttered under his breath, "If you think I'm just going to stand there and watch other people leer at you…"

His words didn't go unnoticed by Impa's keen ears. The guardian coughed, and pointed at the door. "Ahem. No one forced you to be a Sheikah, Vaati. The door is over there," she said while he grimaced. Impa added, "However, you may want to stop telling people that you are the princess's personal guard if you leave."

For a moment, Vaati did almost look as though he were going to storm out the door, his red eyes glaring something terrible. However, he caught the princess's gaze and found that he couldn't find it in him to just drop everything and leave. It wasn't fair, really. He couldn't count how many times Sheik got away with things with his tragic puppy eyes.

Like that one time at the Gerudo camp when Vaati had been about to destroy him.

It really put a damper on things when the person you wanted dead insisted that you were their only friend, and looked at you with the most pathetically accepting gaze.

Vaati sighed irritably, and remained where he was, sulking, his arms crossed over his chest and his shoulders somewhat curled.

"Good. Then let's discuss how we'll be organizing this," Impa said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

While Zelda had been ambivalent about her birthday ball, when the day finally came she found that it might not have been such a bad idea after all. She peered out from her window where she could see the people filing in, mostly the nobles who'd requested the party in the first place, but also some from the middle and lower classes that she'd been able to sneak off invitations to with a lot of help from Vaati. The nobles were undoubtedly going to be miffed that this party wasn't exclusive, but they were just going to have to deal with it.

And looking down from her window, she could see people smiling. They appeared excited, and some of them already had a glow about them from drink. The guards walked around, lighting the hanging lanterns along the walkways as the sun was setting. The people were dressed in reds, silvers, and golds to reflect the approaching autumn. It was heartening to see her people so happy after everything that had happened, after all of the loss they'd had to endure.

There was a knock on her door, and Zelda pulled her gaze away from the window. "Come in!" she called, and she beamed when she saw a familiar face walk in through the door. Vaati, pulled his cowl down further over his face as though annoyed by her excitement. "Hello, Vaati. What's all this about?" she teased, finding it funny how he glowered at the silliest things.

"Just thought I'd drop by before I go and pretend I don't exist to the world for the rest of the night," Vaati muttered bitterly. He looked around, and then walked over to the chair by the window and sat down. For anyone else, Zelda would have been annoyed that they'd made themselves welcome without being invited, but she was used to him doing this by now.

"Vaati, please. I'll know where you are," she rolled her eyes.

"No, you won't."

"You're not _that_ good at hiding from me yet. Maybe when Impa stops finding you, I'll have trouble knowing where you are."

Vaati sighed while the princess wagged a taunting finger in front of his face. After some time, he said flatly. "Fine."

Zelda chuckled. It was the one where she tilted her chin slightly downwards while turning away, the same one Sheik often did to hide his smile behind the cloth he used to cover his face. She walked over to join him by the window again.

"So what do you think?" she asked, spreading her arms out and giving a small twirl. She was wearing a silver, offshoulder dress with barely visible patterns of wing accents. The fabric was soft and floaty like fairy wisps. "Do I look okay?"

Vaati barely turned his head as he continued to stare out the window. "Sure," he said in a bored tone.

"Really, Vaati? Just _sure_?" Zelda exclaimed indignantly. At least 'good' would have been okay, but _sure?_ So that's how he was going to be, huh? She'd been waiting for him to be completely immature about the fact that she hadn't told him about her birthday, and apparently he'd decided that the day to be a child about it would be on that very day. She wasn't all that surprised that he was still, after an entire week, miffed that she hadn't told him about her birthday, but he was being a real deku nut about it.

"Well someone's fishing for compliments. Why don't you go ask your noble friends instead of me?" Vaati snapped, while Zelda only arched a brow at him, unimpressed.

Zelda was used to this by now. After the whole ordeal with Dethl, she'd learned that, while Fuu had been almost childlike in innocence, _Vaati_ was like the brat kid who egged people's houses for fun. Basically a manchild who expected things to always go their way, and dramatically sulked about it when they didn't.

Before Zelda could say anything, the sorcerer shook his head irritably. "Ugh, just. Here." He tossed a small object towards Zelda, who caught it out of the air. She opened her fingers, and in her palm was a beautiful red gem shaped like a teardrop, and about the size of a pearl. It reflected different shades of reds and even faint purples in the light, like a cat's eye. The stone hung from a thin silver chain.

"Happy birthday," Vaati mumbled, drumming his fingers along the table distractedly while Zelda brought the necklace closer to her face.

"It's so pretty…" she murmured, and then walked over to the mirror on the other side of the room to try it on.

"That's not all it is. It's enchanted. Whenever you need help, just say the words 'tekesuta reku,'" the sorcerer explained, almost hurried and embarrassed. "I'll come find you."

Zelda admired her reflection in the mirror, and she was speechless for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. Vaati was one of her best friends now, but she'd never pegged him as the caring type. He always scoffed at anything that could even remotely be construed as 'soft.' This was all the funnier considering he'd once been the most terrifying individual in the world. "Vaati I don't know what to say. This is so thoughtful of you," she finally managed.

"Use that if anyone tries to grope you today, alright?" Vaati said sharply.

At this, Zelda laughed. So that's what this was about? She knew there was an agenda in all of this somewhere. "I can handle them, don't you worry," she said with a smile, showing off a frighteningly swift jab that would have instantly broken the jaw of any poor soul unlucky enough to approach her the wrong way.

Vaati didn't sound convinced. "I don't doubt that, but-"

"Promise me you won't cause a scene?" She shushed him, holding up a finger. When Vaati looked like he was about to argue, she curled her fingers into a fist. Their secret 'Sheikah' hand sign. "For me."

Vaati's nose twitched, and his brow crinkled like he was fighting some kind of internal struggle. Finally, he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation and bumped his fist with hers. Then, he stood up from his chair and strode over to the door to make his exit.

"Vaati."

The sorcerer stopped. He turned his head slightly to acknowledge that he'd heard her.

"Thank you," Zelda smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There's a certain haunting atmosphere that settles just as the sun is about to set. The world seems to hold its breath, and then it sighs as night falls and the lords of darkness patrol the new, sunless domain.

The night is a world for dangerous folk. Thieves love it as their accomplice, assassins thrive under their cover. And tonight, a servant of night had decided to lurk among the crowd of people gathering at the castle to celebrate the birthday of the Princess of Light. They were an assassin, waiting for a chance to hunt their prey.

They had broad shoulders, suggesting male under the cowl and long cloak that hid their features. Although he was tall, he moved with a low crouch that masked his true height, and he was lithe and light on his feet like a cat. His attire was a dusky black that allowed them to blend in with the darkness, and beneath the cloak revealed a fitted outfit with a blue symbol, a perfect circle, that vaguely resembled an open eye. Daggers and bombs hung from his wastes, but they quickly disappeared from view as the cloak settled over his frame.

The assassin slowly stalked the side of the castle walls, expertly avoiding the notice of the patrolling guards. He sat crouched beside shrubbery some distance away from the main gates of the castle. A brief flicker of light reflected from his eyes behind the cowl as he looked up at the rising crescent moon to gauge the time.

And then, he waited.

He'd been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. He was a patient man.

Hyrule had enjoyed peace for something close to five months. Regrettably, peace was a transient commodity.

* * *

fleets: just a bit of something fluffy before i destroy it all to pieces, yeah? That might have looked a bit shippy to some of you, but they're more like besties at this point. Good besties. REally good besties (wiggles eyebrows). cough... anyway.

Let me know what you think! :D I hope you guys like it so far!


	2. The Uninvited Guest

fleets: i wasn't sure if i wanted to keep going or not, but i felt like the break was more appropriate here so  
TAKE THIS SUPER EARLY UPDATE? can't stop won't stop gonna burn out soon but i don't care yeah (was supposed to burn out 10 chapters ago in demonbound but)

Also thank you guys for keeping up with this (kind of sort of) insane updating schedule. I can't tell you how grateful I am for those of you who show up to review again and again despite the fact that i keep posting these one right after the other ;w;

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Uninvited Guest**

Ten minutes since they'd opened the doors to the public, the castle was lively with music and conversation. People were beginning to come inside, and while the high class, easily identifiable with their gaudy and extra glittery attire, initially regarded the middle and lower classes with disdain, they eventually came around with the distraction of food, drink, and music. It wasn't crowded yet, but with more and more people appearing every minute, it was clear that the castle was eventually going to be packed with people.

Vaati sighed, watching the party below from his perch on the window ledge. More people meant more work for him to make sure that there were no suspicious characters about. Zelda hadn't made her appearance yet, and he didn't blame her. She'd once confided that she disliked crowds and social events, and looking at the crowd below that was only growing larger, he couldn't really see how she would enjoy this ball at all.

Vaati's ears pricked when he heard someone approach, and Impa gracefully climbed up to where he was to join him. A few weeks ago he might not have noticed her sneak up on him, but he'd gotten fairly good at picking up the barely audible tells of her approach.

"How is everything?" She asked, and she settled against the wall of the window pane next to him. It was difficult to tell from her tone whether she was asking how he was, or if he'd seen anything unusual so far. Ever since Vaati had recovered his memories, he had a nagging feeling that the older Sheikah wanted to talk to him about something, but didn't know how to start that conversation.

Vaati shrugged his shoulders in response, before going back to his sullen silence.

Impa nodded, her reserved expression difficult to read. For a moment her shoulders moved as though she were about to go somewhere else, but for whatever reason, she decided to stay for a little longer. The two of them watched the people enjoying themselves below without so much as saying a word to each other.

Sometime later, the princess appeared. She didn't make a grand entrance about it, just like her style, and instead blended in immediately among the crowd, shaking hands where needed and throwing on a bright smile while occasionally nodding in agreement to some conversation nearby. It was surprising how Zelda looked like a completely different person while she mingled with the attendees; from her exaggerated, somewhat bubbly mannerisms and her outgoing smile, no one would have expected that she was really quite reserved, and enjoyed solitude more than company.

"I know you're upset that I pressed her to do this, Vaati," Impa said after a while. She'd been so quiet and still this whole time that anyone who wasn't used to her would have forgotten that she'd been there.

Vaati stirred, whatever thoughts he'd been lost in interrupted. "I didn't say anything," he replied, and he took a moment to stretch his arms. Not a single person noticed the two Sheikah watching them from above.

Impa's lips curled up in a small smile. "It's written across your face," she said, and then she uncrossed her arms from her chest and sat down next to Vaati. Her elbows were propped against her thighs and she sat hunched forward, pensive, as the violins from the orchestra struck a note. She rubbed her fingers together for a few seconds as though carefully trying to pick the words she wanted to say, and then eventually spoke in a contemplative whisper as though afraid someone aside from them might hear. "I never knew how to say this, but let me say it now. Thank you."

Beside her, the sorcerer continued to watch the princess dancing, her dress billowing as she twirled. His expression was an unreadable mask, but there was a ghost of an arch in his eyebrows that suggested surprise by Impa's words. His response was silence, as though to inquire for an explanation.

Below them, Zelda glanced up at where they were sitting. Her bright blue eyes locked with theirs for a few seconds, indicating that she knew where they were, before she went back to mingle and gain some favors with the nobles. Her smile lingered a little longer knowing that Impa and Vaati were there.

"For as long as I could remember, the princess never had any real friends," Impa said softly. "I've been somewhat of a parental figure ever since her parents passed, when she was but a child too young to remember. I am not a friend, but a guardian."

Vaati shifted his weight uncomfortably at the mention of parents. He'd always wondered how Zelda had ended up ruling a kingdom by herself at such a young age, and she'd never mentioned anything about her parents. Vaati, too, had no memories of his own. Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. He disliked thinking about them, and so he never thought about them. He supposed they'd existed, once.

A vague image of when he'd been young passed his mind, of someone holding his hand as they led him along, his hands tiny in theirs. Then, they pushed him through a magnificent white door and it closed with a thud behind him. The door… the door was somehow important. Special. He could never put a finger on the significance it held, but he was sure that it was no ordinary door.

Then his hands were empty, the fingers slipping away, and all he had left was the feeling that he had no one to wait for, because they were never coming back.

Rage flared briefly as he thought about the parents he barely remembered, _creatures_ who'd only caused him bitterness and grief. He didn't realize that his knuckles were white from clenching his fists at the memory he thought he'd let go. His gaze, cold like steel, finally looked up towards Impa who hadn't seemed to notice his sudden stiffness. Or, if she did, she pretended not to.

He sighed, grateful that for once, Impa's keen eyes didn't catch his sudden change in mood. He shook away his wearisome thoughts, and instead wondered why Zelda never talked about her parents. He thought he already knew why, as he and Sheik were similar in this regard; they carried their burdens and victories alone.

He thought about the fight against Dethl at the Palace of Winds, and his expression softened.

Some things had changed, perhaps.

"I admit I was concerned when I heard your memories had returned. I thought that you were only biding your time to wreak havoc on Hyrule once again. However," Impa paused, her tone tinged with surprise. She seemed to take a moment to gather her thoughts again, and then chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head. She waved a hand at the Zelda below. "I've never seen the princess so happy, even after all that's happened. You can support her where I cannot. Where I must advise her regarding what's best for her as the Princess of Hyrule, you can advise her regarding what's best for her as, well,"

"Sheik," Vaati completed. The one who was free, without all of the titles that weighed their wings down.

Impa nodded, and the two fell to contemplative silence again. The orchestra thrummed with an uplifting tune, and Zelda looked up at them again, this time with a sincere smile other than the plastic mask she reserved for those she wasn't close to. The princess rolled her eyes at the young man who was trying to catch her attention next to her before she flashed a quick wink towards Vaati, causing a tiny smirk to appear on the sorcerer's face.

"It is nice to see she finally has someone her age to talk to," Impa chuckled when she saw Zelda's unspoken message.

At this, Vaati looked up sharply. He scoffed, brushing his bangs aside. "I am much older than you think. Even older than you." The sorcerer leaned back against the window, his head tilted with an amused sneer.

There was a knowing twinkle in the older Sheikah's eyes. It reminded Vaati of how she'd looked at him back when she'd challenged him to beat Sheik during training months ago. "You are still young and inexperienced," she declared.

Vaati wondered how many people actually knew about Impa's overbold attitude. Although she didn't say much and tended to observe more than speak, Vaati thought of her as the type of person who quietly judged people, and would later embarrass people she didn't like with slick, insightful one-liners.

The sorcerer's sneer fell, the Sheikah's toying expression annoying him. He sat up, leaning forward in a challenge. "I will forgive your ignorance once, Impa, but I am over a thousand years old. Hardly what you would call 'young' and 'inexperienced.'"

Impa was unfazed by the sorcerer, and she simply watched him with her discerning gaze. She watched him until the sorcerer fought the urge to fidget under her judgment. Then, her chest rose and fell, a sigh, and she looked at him in a way that caught him off guard.

With pity.

"How many of those thousand years have you actually lived, Vaati?" she asked quietly.

"I…" Vaati started, but he couldn't find the rest of the retort he'd prepared. His red eyes wandered behind the cowl, confused, and then he looked down when he couldn't give her an answer. He fell to sullen silence, his arms folding over his waist and his chin tucked down as he considered Impa's words some more. For a moment he almost looked like a normal young man trying to figure out where he was going in life, rather than the former tyrant-sorcerer-turned-Sheikah that he now was.

Zelda's guardian gave him a sympathetic nod, though she didn't press for his answer. She knew she'd gotten her point across. "I don't know what happened in your past, but I've watched you for some time and I can tell: you never had the chance to grow up."

"You dare…" Vaati growled, but it was half-hearted unlike his usual snarl. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, but he wasn't able to find the words to object. They both knew that she was right.

"I mean no offense in it, just an observation. You are not the only one here who wasn't able to enjoy a conventional upbringing," Impa added, not without kindness in her voice. She turned her head away, giving the sorcerer some privacy with his own thoughts. Then, she pushed herself up onto her feet.

"Well, the crowd has certainly grown. I will go and check the courtyard for anything suspicious," she said.

Vaati continued to sit, buried in his thoughts, even as Impa left to make her rounds. Once he was sure that she was gone, he sighed loudly, pulling the cowl further over his face in aggravation. How dare Impa talk to him like she actually knew who he was, what he'd gone through?

And how dare she be right?

Vaati shook his head.

No. No she was wrong.

The wind mage dragged his fingers across his face with another sigh. While he regarded Impa with some level of respect, he couldn't help but be apprehensive whenever she was around. If he was around her for too long she was going to dig up parts of his past that had no business being exposed.

Vaati stood up and paced along the window sill to clear his mind of the previous conversation. Then, he realized that Zelda was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, which he understood as a commentary regarding how bad a Sheikah he was being, for being so noticeable. If he paced any harder, surely he would start a fire with his heels and cause the entire crowd to look at him.

With a scowl, he forced himself to stop pacing and instead glared at the people who were, unlike him, having a nice time at the party.

And that was when he noticed someone else looking at him.

A pair of red eyes, watching him.

Vaati turned his head sharply in the direction from where he'd sensed the gaze, and he felt a chill run down his neck when their eyes met.

It was a person who'd been blending in with the shadows along the walls on the far side of the room. They were wearing a simple, dusty black cloak and their face was hidden by the hood. They could have been a middle class guest who hadn't been able to find something better to wear for the occasion, as there were plenty of people in the crowd who'd arrived wearing something modest. However Vaati couldn't shake the feeling that this person was someone who hadn't been invited.

He'd sensed their panic when their eyes had met, as though he'd caught them in the middle of some malign plot. Furthermore, despite his agitated pacing from before, he still would have been rather difficult to spot from the untrained eye, and yet this individual had managed to find him just as quickly as Zelda had.

Who was this person?

The stranger's eyes darted away, and they stood up from where they had been hiding in the shadows and dusted themselves off as though they hadn't seen Vaati at all. Their nonchalant demeanor almost had the sorcerer second guessing himself, but his intuition had always served him quite well, and right now it was screaming at him to keep an eye on this individual.

Vaati jumped up, away from the window sill where he'd been sitting, and hovered up above the chandeliers and against the ceiling of the banquet hall. Few people expected anyone to be floating by the ceiling, which made it a perfect place to hide. Even against those who were trained in the art of sneaking wouldn't expect him there since not many people knew magic like he did.

The sorcerer followed the individual as they casually picked a fruit tart from a tray. For the next twenty minutes or so, they continued to act just like any other visitor at the castle. They munched on the tart while they enjoyed the music, and occasionally joined in on a nearby conversation.

Just when Vaati was going to decide that his intuition about this individual had been wrong, and that there was nothing suspicious about them, he saw them flash a look towards where he'd been hiding earlier, by the window. It had been brief, and just barely noticeable, but Vaati knew that what he saw had been real.

This character was checking to see if Vaati was still watching them.

His suspicion rose, but Vaati wasn't completely convinced that this person wasn't just looking at the window sill simply because he had made them nervous earlier. He had to be sure.

Vaati's eyes glowed as he summoned some sentry eyes who he stationed near the ceiling where he was currently hovering. He had them watch the suspicious individual, and then teleported back down to the second floor walkway that circled above the banquet hall. He stood in the shadow of a pillar, hidden enough so that he would be easily missed by the untrained eye, but noticeable by a trained one.

Then, Vaati turned his back to the suspicious individual to look at some other people on the other side of the room, and he waited.

The answer revealed itself much sooner than he'd anticipated.

While his own eyes could not see what the suspicious individual was doing, the sentry eyes that he'd left near the ceiling showed him everything he needed to know.

This character wasn't just some ordinary middle class person who came to enjoy the party.

This was someone who was trained in subterfuge.

Through the sentry eyes, Vaati saw the person's gaze do a quick sweep of the room before they landed on him, watching him with that same, searching look. The stranger glanced at him several times, as though to make sure that Vaati was no longer following their movements. Once convinced that Vaati had lost interest in them, they set down their half-finished fruit tart on a nearby table. They then began to make their way towards the set of doors that led to the stairs leading further inside the castle.

A grin bloomed on Vaati's face as the uninvited guest expertly disappeared through the door like a true shadow warrior. No matter how well they hid in the shadows, however, they could not escape the watch of Vaati's sentry eyes.

 _I've got you._

* * *

fleets: ughhhhh i know i didn't proof well at all but i couldn't help it i just had to submit a;skdjf

Anyone notice the 'gonna talk about Vaati's past later' setup? I'm really excited to get into his backstory again because I haven't really done that since Tainted Heart, a suuuper old story by me that desperately needs updating. I have a few twists that are hopefully exciting :)  
Relatedly, I'm falling back on my 'antihero Vaati' characterization this time! It's the one that's worked best for me, historically, and I've kind of given up on 'disgustingly evil bastard Vaati.' I mean, I tried. In demonbound if you'd believe it. It didn't pan out at all lmao

asdlkfja;sldfj i can't wait until this story actually really starts and it's killing me i have to get through a bunch of other chapters first AUGH

 **RayHollows:** Oh snap I actually got Zelda's dress off of a reference pic. I should post it somewhere soon when I remember :O  
My headcanon is that Vaati is more like a brat than a suave gent because he was just a bratchild during MC. Then he gets sealed up and, well, kiddo never really went through the 'grew up to be a respectable adult' phase xD

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** So happy we're in agreement! He is just a angry sulky doofball :3  
We'll get there soon ;)

 **Lunamew:** ;akjsdf me too! And yesss you caught the references to his self-imposed title at the end of demonbound! xD  
And yeah that was Minish! I'm surprised you caught that, too :D I'm using the Japanese version of Minish since it's actually based on a real language than a lot of random pico pico noises haha. YES SMUSH THEIR FACES TOGETHER

 **Reily96:** ( _intense eyebrow wigging_ ). hahaha we'll get there. I mean, they're practically a ship already they just don't realize/admit that yet. Prepare for some severe heartache along the way, however, as I don't intend to make this easy or smooth sailing. :D

 **Ai Star:** Thanks! And yup, the trouble is only getting closer! Hahahaha yeah Vaati holds the worst kind of grudges xD

 **AquilaMage:** As I wrote in Demonbound, Vaati doesn't do subtle hahaha  
Ruined birthday incoming in one... two...

 **plum:** Hey there hey! So good to see you back here again plum :D  
I'm glad you liked the ending of Demonbound, and expect to see some more Ravio and Shadow in this story, too (would be a shame if I forgot them!)  
ANd oh god i don't know what i'm doing to myself because it's 3 in the morning and I should not have this chapter up already x_x

 **Vesperupus:** It's out! With a wtf updating schedule so far! (i need to slow down because i'm going to burn out i just know it)  
I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed writing salty af Vaati. He holds a mean, mean grudge too :P  
I have all different flavors of heartache lined up, hope you got some painkillers with you :D (i should start sending cards with that 'before there's a rainbow, there's always rain' message out to people)


	3. A Goddess's Wish

fleets: So uh, I thought update speed would slow down a little since I just got Hyrule Warriors, but the game ended up inspiring me instead so. Here we are. Another update.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Goddess's Wish**

The suspicious individual was quiet and fast, and Vaati had to admit that he was impressed by how they effortlessly slid past the guards and castle servants. Jealousy bubbled in his chest when he thought about how they moved with the skill of Impa and Sheik: something he still hadn't mastered because of his lack of practice. However, this was only further proof that this individual had been exposed to extensive training similar to the Sheikah's, and Vaati was certain that they were up to no good.

He couldn't get a good look at their features aside from the fact that their eyes were red: their face was covered by a hood, and a cloth scarf hid their features below their nose. At the very least, he guessed that they were male based on the broad-shouldered silhouette, but even that was vague due to the cloak that covered most of their body. Initially he thought they were of average height, but upon further observation he discovered that their true height was disguised by the fact that they moved in a low crouch most of the time.

The sorcerer followed them carefully, having his sentry eyes track them from a distance so that they wouldn't be discovered. Once or twice he was afraid he'd lost them since they seemingly just melted into the shadows, but his sentries were persistent and eventually, managed to follow them to Zelda's bedroom.

He almost burst through the doors in anger as soon as he'd saw the man go into Zelda's room, but he stopped himself; he would only allow the intruder to escape if he barged in recklessly. Vaati observed the man with his sentry eyes, and he saw him sneak about, lifting the bedsheets and checking behind wardrobes as though to find a good place to hide. While he couldn't tell what the man's motive was for hiding in the princess's bedroom, Vaati had caught a gleam of daggers hanging from the man's hip, and he knew that the man meant Zelda harm.

With a growl, Vaati ordered his sentries to take position along all possible escape routes so the intruder wouldn't be able to slip away. The man whirled around when he finally noticed the glowing red eyes of the sentries surrounding him in a circle, and the sorcerer saw his eyes widen behind the hood as he stepped inside the room.

"On your knees," Vaati ordered as he walked towards the intruder in slow, deliberate steps. " _Now_."

The man observed him for a few seconds, his eyes lingering on the Sheikah symbol on Vaati's chest, and then the sorcerer heard an indignant huff. The stranger's voice was rough around the edges and worn with time like the mountains across the desert. "So the Sheikah announce their presence these days, do they?" he asked, and Vaati couldn't help but notice the bitter resentment at the word 'Sheikah.'

"I prefer to savor the last moments of those I hunt before I beat them," Vaati returned a menacing smile. "Now, I suggest you kneel before I break your legs."

Rather than comply, the man straightened from his crouch to his full height. He was imposingly tall, about as tall as Impa. Red eyes narrowed behind the cowl. "And how arrogant you've become," he whispered. Then, he gave one, slow nod towards something behind Vaati. "Kill him."

The sorcerer whirled around at the order, caught by surprise that he'd allowed someone to sneak up behind him. He brought his hands up to defend himself against whatever it was that was about to attack him. Rather than an attack, however, he came face to face with… absolutely nothing.

Upon realizing what had happened, he turned back around only to find that the suspicious man had closed the distance between them and was rushing at him with a dagger. _Did I just…_

He was ashamed. So ashamed.

 _I did. I just fell for the oldest trick in the book…_

The man dug his weapon into Vaati's neck, but to his surprise it was only an afterimage. The real Vaati had teleported behind him, and the sorcerer couldn't help but smirk a little; he'd learned a few tricks after sparring with Sheik, and he'd gotten much, much faster at casting evasive spells than before. Vaati quickly charged a sphere of energy and fired it at the man.

The man managed to dodge most of the blast, but it nicked his side which was enough to send him crashing into the table on the other side of the room. When Vaati approached the broken splinters of wood, the man expertly threw his remaining daggers at the sorcerer's head before jumping back onto his feet. Vaati stopped the daggers with a flick of his wrists, summoning a gust that caused the blades to clatter harmlessly to the floor before they reached their target.

"You fight like-" Vaati began, but was cut short when he realized he was surrounded by three copies of the man.

 _Illusions?_

Fire erupted around him, obscuring his vision. Irritated, the sorcerer swatted the flames away and looked around for his foe. He summoned a small whirlwind around himself, blowing up several pieces of furniture into the air along with the mysterious man who'd been trying to go in for the kill while Vaati had been blinded by flames.

The wind mage strode over to the stunned man who was trying to steady himself against a chair. Vaati grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall nearby, and his free hand was pointed at the man and crackling with magic, threatening to unleash a painful spell should his captive struggle. "You fight like a Sheikah," the sorcerer observed.

Vaati watched the other man glare at him with the ferocity of a desert storm. Again, the same bitterness seemed to be triggered by the word 'Sheikah,' and Vaati could tell that the man held his bitterness close; whatever grudge he had with the Sheikah was personal.

The sorcerer couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship the man had with the secretive tribe. After all, Vaati still knew next to nothing about the Sheikah, and neither Impa nor Sheik seemed to like talking about them to outsiders, including himself. He understood that Impa's acceptance of him as an 'honorary' Sheikah was a big deal and a great honor, but he would still be considered an outsider.

Vaati had a feeling that this stranger knew far more about the Sheikah than he did, and the question he'd had earlier when he'd first seen him at the ball resurfaced in his mind: Just who was this person?

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Vaati asked, though his somewhat bored tone suggested that he knew the stranger wouldn't answer. He shrugged when, as expected, the man kept his silence and continued to glare.

"I suppose I can beat it out of you later," he said, bringing his face just a hair closer, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. His fingers crackled with magic as he brought them to the man's forehead, and he whispered, "To Stone With You."

 _Zing!_

The rebound startled Vaati, sending the sorcerer stumbling backwards. Open-mouthed in surprise, he stared at the man with confusion blossoming on his face. His fingers tingled from the backfiring spell, and he rubbed them slowly in shock.

No one had ever stopped his magic so completely like that before.

And then, Vaati noticed that something weird was going on with the man's face. Or rather, around the man's face. The air flickered over the man's cowl, and something solid began to materialize around it. A stone mask shimmered into existence over the man's head, and it appeared demonic and ancient, with four tall horn-like protrusions on either side of it. A single stone eye carved on the left side of its 'face' stared out at him blankly.

For the first time in a long time, the Sorcerer of Winds actually felt mortality. The power emanating from the mask was crushing, and Vaati had to fight to keep his fingers from shaking involuntarily under its influence.

It was then that he finally knew who this man was. He was someone not unlike him, someone who had achieved the power of the Gods themselves.

Feeling something close to fear, Vaati tried to transform into his most powerful form, Wrath. However, while his fingers momentarily changed into monstrous black claws, they abruptly changed back. The sorcerer's brows furrowed in confusion, and then a horrible realization dawned on him when he found that their positions had reversed, and it was now he who was caught in the man's grasp. Instead, he was now caught, trapped within the man's hands wrapped around his arms, and his knees were pushed to the ground as he was quickly overpowered.

" _Kneel._ "

Though Vaati fought to stay standing, he could feel his own power leaving him, siphoned out of him through the man's fingertips until he fell to the floor. His hands around the man's arms fell limp and he struggled to remain conscious. _This… this is pathetic…_

He'd grossly underestimated this man's power.

His perception became vague, and lights flashed before his eyes, bringing with them flickers of disoriented visions. He saw the one-eyed mask stare at him like it was searching his soul, and then the eye became painted red into the Sheikah symbol. His vision flickered again, sending him back in time and he was now looking at the princess of Hyrule, all frozen as stone, and his own hands were stretched out towards her as he stole the Light Force out of her.

Another flicker, and in his hands was a red cap with a glittering, blood colored jewel embedded in its frame. The cap was dyed from red to a deep purple while it sat between his fingers. The cap that had started it all.

The flickering stopped as abruptly as it had started, and Vaati clutched his chest as a sharp pain seared through his body. His pain was so great that he barely noticed that his hands were more like paws, now, and that the masked man was towering over him like an enormous tree overshadowing him.

He had trouble breathing like his lungs were getting crushed between iron plates, and he couldn't figure out what was going on. As Vaati fell to the floor, he saw the masked man stumble backwards with his hands clutching his head as though suffering from a severe migraine. The mask disappeared, and the man braced himself against the wall, winded.

Vaati fought to move his increasingly unresponsive body towards the door. His mistake of underestimating his opponent had left him outmatched, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed to retreat. It was then that he noticed, _really_ noticed for the first time, that something was very wrong with him.

Everything towered above him, and the door was no longer ten steps away but several dozens of steps away. His fingers, or rather paws, were covered in short fur, and he felt a new sensory input extending from his back like an extra limb. A tail.

Between labored breaths and trying to figure out how to get out of this situation alive, a horrific realization dawned on Vaati. His mind almost shut down right then and there, with half of him screaming in denial, and the other half shocked into silence from terrified acceptance. He was no longer the Sorcerer of Winds, but a small, mousy creature no larger than a thumb.

He'd been turned back into a Minish.

No, no that wasn't the only thing. Judging from how he was wearing the very same clothes he'd been wearing on the day he'd stolen the powerful Wishing Cap to become the Wind Mage Vaati, the masked man hadn't simply turned him back into Minish. He'd taken all of the power Vaati had gained through the Wishing Cap. The man had undone the wish.

The intruder, no longer wearing the demonic mask, had apparently recovered from his headache from using the powerful artifact and was slowly making his way to where Vaati lay. As the man approached, the sorcerer tried to speak through his pain.

 _Who are you?_ he asked, a final request, but his throat was clamped and he couldn't make a sound.

He knew this was it. He could feel his body failing him and there was nothing he could do about it.

Vaati watched the man standing over him, and the sorcerer's lips were pulled back in a grimaced snarl, both from the pain in his chest as well as from anger. It enraged him to think that his life would end like this, without knowing just who or what he'd been fighting. It enraged him to think that the Wind Mage's last moments would be as a pathetic Minish, and all because of an arrogant mistake. His anger pushed back the pain when he thought about Zelda, thought about Sheik, and the danger they were in. If he died here…

At the very least, they were more cautious than he was: they won't make the same mistake he made.

"Who's there?"

Vaati's head snapped towards the door. Princess Zelda was standing in the doorway, and her sharp blue eyes immediately darted around the broken furniture, to him, and then to the cloaked man. With quick judgment, she grabbed a letter opener that had fallen near her feet, and she dashed towards the intruder with the sharp blade in one hand and the other charged with magic.

She wasn't fast enough, however, and the intruder leapt towards the window, shattering it, and then swiftly disappeared into the night.

Zelda hesitated in front of the broken window, as though wondering if she should give chase. However, she turned around when she remembered the strange, tiny creature on the floor.

Vaati watched the princess kneel in front of him, his eyelids heavy. He couldn't really feel the pain anymore. In fact, he couldn't really feel anything anymore, and everything was numb. Before he lost consciousness, he had to tell her. He had to tell her what had happened to him, where Vaati had gone.

With one last grimace, the Minish sorcerer held out a paw that was curled into a tiny fist. He smiled when he saw recognition pass over Zelda's face, and then he blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Earlier, Princess Zelda had noticed Vaati sneaking off out of the banquet hall. She'd caught him with a determined glint in his eye, like he'd caught someone making trouble and was going to make them regret their life choices.

Zelda knew all too well that Vaati almost always got himself in trouble whenever he had that look. His arrogance got the best of him, and he would always slip up, make some silly mistake, and get into deep water.

Out of concern, she'd slipped away from the ball to follow him from a distance. She'd lost him a few times, but eventually heard noises coming from her room. She was sure Vaati was there as she thought she'd heard his voice, but rather than finding the sorcerer, she encountered a strange hooded man who looked roughed up like he'd been fighting someone, her room in complete shambles, and a small, mouse-like creature wearing tiny purple robes.

Now, the man had gone, and she was left with the tiny creature that was lying limp on the floor, struggling to breathe. There was something wrong with it, like it was injured, but she couldn't see any external damage anywhere. More disconcerting, however, was the fact that the creature seemed familiar to her. She couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the first time she'd encountered it.

And then, it had looked up at her with those same, determined red eyes that she'd seen earlier, and it weakly held out a paw into a fist before it fell unconscious from exhaustion.

Zelda's breath caught in her throat, and a chill ran down her neck when she realized what she was looking at. _Who_ she was looking at. Afraid, she knelt down beside the Minish and her voice wavered as she said hoarsely, "Vaati…?"

He didn't respond.

She tried nudging him, careful not to hurt him as he was so small. No response. Her panic grew when she noticed that she couldn't see the rise and fall of his chest, or any signs of breathing.

She wanted to believe that this wasn't actually Vaati, but it _had_ to be him. As soon as he'd held out his fist, she knew: that was their special greeting, reserved for each other and no one else. That, and the fact that this creature had features that were similar to the sorcerers – like the light purple hair, the purple motif, and the red eyes that were mischievously arrogant – and she was convinced that this was Vaati. She had no idea how or why he'd been turned into a fragile creature that looked more like a mouse than a human, but she knew that he needed help, and quickly.

Forcing her hands to stop shaking, Zelda stood up abruptly and began to rummage around her room, wildly searching for one of her summoning necklaces. She slammed open the drawers of her desk while shoving aside the mess of inkwells and papers onto the floor. Zelda tried to keep herself together as she snatched a necklace with a small blue stone. She had no idea what had happened here in the last hour, but Vaati desperately needed her help and she couldn't afford to melt down in panic.

"Please help me," Zelda whispered, and there was a brief flash from the stone in her hands.

Seconds later, there was another flash, and a small ball of pink-tinted light appeared before her. It hovered on two pairs of wings, and upon closer inspection, the outline of a tiny person could be seen within the orb of light.

It was a fairy, one that had been assigned to protect the royal family in cases of emergency. While Vaati wasn't technically a part of the royal family, he was a friend of it, and this was an emergency.

"There," she pointed at the unconscious Minish on the floor when the fairy waited for her expectantly, seemingly confused because the princess appeared unharmed. " _Please_ ," Zelda stressed, when the fairy flitted around uncertainly when it realized that it was being asked to help some stranger unrelated to its charge.

Zelda held her breath when the fairy eventually flew down to investigate the Minish. The tiny sliver of hope that she clung to dimmed and vanished when the fairy fluttered back over to her rather than help Vaati. The fairy stammered in response to the princess's expression of shattered hope.

"I-I apologize, Princess Zelda. I cannot help him." The fairy flitted in an agitated manner when it noticed the princess's eyes wander in increasing panic. "Fairy magic can heal wounds as long as the individual is… is alive."

 _He's dead?_ Zelda froze. Time seemed to stop, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. _NO. No that can't be…_

The fairy continued, anticipating Zelda's next question. "We can only heal mortal wounds _immediately_ after they occur. Not even my magic can help his situation, Princess Zelda. It would take the power of the goddesses themselves to bring someone back from the dead."

The princess slumped backwards, her knees giving under her weight and she sat helplessly on the floor. Her mind was an incoherent mess, and she couldn't understand what the fairy was telling her. Vaati couldn't be dead. She was just talking to him earlier, a few hours ago, and he'd been his usual, petulant yet oddly endearing self. She remembered asking him for his opinion on how she looked, she remembered seeing him watching over the ball with Impa, she remembered… she remembered…

He couldn't be dead.

This was Vaati, the Sorcerer of Winds they were talking about. He wasn't the type of person to go down so easily. He wasn't the type of person to just roll over and die in some forgettable manner. This wasn't right. This was impossible. This wasn't how things should end.

At the same time, a part of her knew what was rational and true. Death was the great equalizer: it didn't matter what class or prestige you had, or what kind of life you had lived. It was unbiased, and it came suddenly, often without any sense of fairness or justness. Death had claimed her parents unexpectedly one day, without any warning, in a brutally insignificant accident that some would argue wasn't a fitting end for a king and a queen, and it wouldn't care who Vaati had been when it one day came to claim him as well.

 _No. No no no no no! He's not DEAD!_

There had to be something she could do. Something to make this all right again. After everything she and Vaati had gone through, she couldn't just sit here and accept that he was dead. She glared at the fairy, sending it away for suggesting that her best friend couldn't be saved. She'd seen him alive just a few minutes ago, he couldn't have died so quickly in such an… an insignificant way.

 _It would take the power of the goddesses themselves to bring someone back from the dead_.

Zelda blinked when she remembered the last thing the fairy had said before she'd sent it away. Slowly, she looked down at her satin gloved hands when realization dawned on her that there was still an option left to save Vaati. She wavered for a few seconds as she wondered if she should really do this, and then, finally, she bit her lip and ripped her right glove off of her hands.

The room basked in a warm yellow glow as the gold symbol of the Triforce glittered on the top of her hand. Zelda hesitated again when she remembered a conversation she'd had with Impa when she'd been a young girl of about seven years old. She remembered Impa, much younger than she was now but with the same expression of dependability, and she remembered her holding her hand as her guardian tried to console her.

" _I know you miss your parents, your grace."_

" _I hate them, Impa. Sometimes I really hate them. They left me with a kingdom I don't even want. I never asked for this."_

" _You aren't without a guide. I'll always be here for you, princess, and if you ever feel lost then let your mother's last gift guide you as well."_

" _I never asked for this STUPID triangle, either. I just… I just want my parents back."_

Zelda took a deep breath, and slowly, cautiously placed her right hand over Vaati.

" _The Triforce will guide you to light in times when darkness threatens to overwhelm you. It is said that it can even call forth miracles in times of great need."_

" _Miracles…?"_

" _Yes. However, there is one thing you must never, ever wish for, your grace."_

There was a bright flash of light, and the gold triangle on Zelda's hand began to glow brighter. She felt a tingle run down her hand, and a sensation of something pulling her in and out of consciousness as the triangle shook and broke in two.

" _You must never wish for the dead to live, for to do that is to tamper with the will of the goddesses."_

Light sparkled against a tear that rolled down her face.

"I'm sorry, Impa," Zelda whispered. There was a cough, and the Minish-turned Vaati began to breathe again, a gold triangle of the Triforce identical to Zelda's on his right paw.

* * *

fleets: Not much to say. I hope the chapter speaks for itself?

 **Ai Star:** Haha we'll see about grudges. Annnd the feels train starts now. :3

 **Vesperupus:** Zelda's 20th birthday is probably the worst birthday ever. It's been a while since I tackled Vaati's backstory, and I plan on addressing things I never got to before, so I'm pretty excited :)  
Feels train departing now. It's only going to get worse from here :D

 **Annoying Person:** Oof, what a guest name D: (you're not annoying, guest!)  
Ahhh I'm happy you liked my stories! Rewriting TU _has_ crossed my mind a few times, though I haven't seriously considered it. People seemed to enjoy that story, people seemed to enjoy Rend, and I enjoyed writing both Rend and TU. Maybe once I'm burnt out of all other fanfic ideas and don't feel like doing my original story I might consider it? Not sure though.

 **plum:** I see Impa as kind of like the adoptive mom of both Zelda and Vaati haha. Boy she's got her hands full.  
I want to slow down because I know my writing quality might suffer for it but I can't... I can't stop D:  
I guess I should be thankful while I still have inspiration/motivation (I just want something in between though haha not something so manic)  
Thanks plum! I really appreciate your support :)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Considering he was just declared dead... probably can't get much worse. Unless I bring him back to life and kill him all over again, I guess that could be worse.  
We'll see who is ;)

 **Peregrine777:** The mystery man... he's pretty powerful! And ahhh I try to make my curveballs extra curvy so that makes me happy to hear! I do have a few in store this time, so I hope I can take people by surprise :)

 **AquilaMage:** Impa's the mom neither Zelda nor Vaati ever had ;u;  
I'm pretty excited to get to that part, especially since I have a surprise planned that I don't think people are going to expect ;)


	4. Soulbound

fleets: i've been getting so much wonderful fanart lately (on tumblr, under 'art for fleets' tag) that i can't help but be inspired. And when I'm inspired, I guess I write faster. Maybe a little too fast haha

Also Hyrule Warriors has been a great source of inspiration. The downside is that I usually end up wanting to play and write at the same time, which is impossible.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Soulbound**

"How are you feeling?"

Vaati awoke to the sound of Zelda's voice, his eyes opening slowly as he took in a long breath. The crushing feeling in his chest had lifted, and he felt so good that he wouldn't have believed that he'd been fighting for his life earlier if it weren't for the fact that he was still a Minish.

Oh how he'd hoped to never see the world from this vantage ever again. He remembered how he must look to her now, and he sat up from the floor with his back turned away. His look of relief that Zelda was still all right was replaced with disgust and self-loathing, and he fell into a sullen silence.

"Vaati, that's you, right?" Zelda asked, concerned that he was still unwell. She tried not to appear too curious about his new appearance, because she was sure that he wouldn't appreciate being stared at like an exotic animal. He was undoubtedly upset - who wouldn't be? - and yet she couldn't help but think how cute he was with his big eyes and chubby cheeks, and that fluffy tail wrapped around himself so that he was curled into a ball. The last thing proud Vaati would want to hear right now was that he was adorable, so she bit her lip and made a mental note of it instead.

The Minish barely lifted his chin, his back still turned towards the princess. After some time, he gave a heavy sigh, looking at his paws shamefully. "Yeah… it's me," he said, wincing at the sound of his new voice. His vocal chords were different compared to his Hylian form, and now it was a bit higher in pitch. Squeaky, even. He resisted the urge to rip the fur off his face.

Zelda's shoulders visibly relaxed when she finally received verbal confirmation that the strange, mouse-like creature was, in fact, Vaati. "What happened?" she asked, and then added hesitantly, "And why do you… why do you look like that?"

At this, Vaati turned his head towards Zelda so that she could see his new beady red eyes. He regarded her for a few seconds, trying to figure out if she was truly ignorant of the story of the Wind Mage and who he'd once been. Judging from her reaction, it was likely that she didn't even know what a Minish was. They had disappeared into obscurity over the centuries after all: perhaps no one even knew about them anymore.

He was somewhat confused as to why the princess was able to see him at all, considering how the Minish could only be seen by children. The Minish had inherent magic that made them invisible adults, so she should not have been able to see him. Still, it was fortunate that she could still see him even if it pained him that he would be seen in such a pathetic state. Otherwise, he'd have a lot more trouble dealing with the man who'd done this to him.

"I followed a man who was going to hurt you," Vaati said slowly, a little more comfortable now that he suspected that Zelda had no clue about the Minish or his embarrassing origins. His brows furrowed as he tried to recount everything that had happened earlier in the night. He remembered the tall man who'd fought like a Sheikah. Black cloak. A flash of blue, a symbol like an eye. An ancient mask of stone with a single carved eye. "I thought he would be easy to take care of but he had this mask and…"

Vaati trailed off. He remembered the overwhelming power of the mask, nothing the likes he'd encountered before, except perhaps the raw power of Zelda's own Triforce. However, unlike the holy power of Zelda's magic, this one had been… well, 'dark' was the only way he could describe it. Its aura had been repelling, like a silent scream in blinding darkness. He remembered all of his power getting sucked out, almost controlled by the mask until he'd been reduced to his repulsive, original form.

He remembered falling to pieces. Dying.

Confused, Vaati looked down at his body, patting himself down as though to make sure he was real. He felt much too alive for someone who'd been dying earlier. In addition, there was also another feeling that made him uneasy that he couldn't quite put a finger on yet. It was almost like he was reading someone's mind? No, no that wasn't it. It was more like someone else's thoughts, or rather emotions, were mangled with his own. There was no reason why he should feel like he was holding back tears (one, that was extremely uncharacteristic of him and two, there was nothing he should be feeling sad about) and yet he could feel the faint tug of heartache. It was very faint, but noticeable enough that it disturbed him.

"Why is it that I feel a lot more alive than I should?" Vaati asked. Then, he noticed the glowing triangle on the back of his right paw and blanched. Now he was _certain_ that he'd died and gone to some weird, trippy afterlife. Or maybe he was drugged up on mushroom brew. Really strong mushroom brew. This night had been crazy enough that he was willing to consider the fact that none of this was real.

He groaned inwardly. He hoped to Din that Dethl hadn't actually returned and was now making him see weird dreams in revenge.

The mark of the Triforce was glowing faintly on the back of his hand. The Triforce. _The_ Triforce. The object he'd been after since… since the time he'd first heard of its existence. It was what had inspired Ezlo (to think he'd be reminded of that name again) to create something similar in power, in the form of the Wishing Cap. "Zelda, what is this?" he asked hoarsely, not really caring about how his question had been extra squeaky.

Zelda looked down at her hands, rubbing her mark slowly. Vaati couldn't help but notice that she had a melancholic smile, which didn't make much sense to him considering how both of them were still alive.

Why was she sad? And why was _he_ feeling sad, too?

"I shared my Triforce with you," the princess answered, and she held out her hand to show him the identical gold mark on hers.

"You can do that?" Vaati asked, skepticism creeping into his voice. His new feathery tail swished, mirroring his feelings. "I've done my research on the Triforce and I never heard of-"

"Consider it a family secret. It's a good thing you have friends in high places," Zelda interrupted him teasingly, with a bright smile on her face. However, it did nothing to assuage Vaati's suspicions that something about this shared Triforce situation was very wrong. He recognized Zelda's smile as the mask she used when deflecting uncomfortable questions or conversations she didn't want to continue. She was very good at fooling others with this smile, but Vaati knew her too well.

Still frowning, he opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped when he saw a look of fear pass briefly over her smile. Startled, he lost his voice, and then decided not to pursue his line of questioning when he saw her eyes pleading with him to trust her and let it go. This didn't make him feel any better, and he had a gnawing suspicion that this 'family secret' of Triforce sharing wasn't something natural and perhaps even taboo, but he decided to let it slide. For now. They had more pressing issues to worry about and he could interrogate her about what she had done later.

Vaati shook his head, and then stretched his limbs. His new feet still felt funny and awkward after being so used to Hylian anatomy for so long. "We have to tell Impa. That man is still out there and if-"

"No!" Zelda interrupted him yet again, her voice raised and almost frantic. She surprised even herself, and she brought her hand up to her lips. It wasn't really like her to lose her composure like that. She started again under Vaati's scrutinizing gaze. "No," she said, her voice returning to its usual calm and collected tone, "If we tell her what happened she will cancel the ball."

At this, Vaati's tail fluffed up and creases appeared on his forehead. "I think the ball is the least of our worries right now."

"If his target tonight was me, then there's a chance that he will return to finish the job."

Vaati's eyes widened when he realized what Zelda was getting at. She wanted to be bait? "No. No, absolutely not," he snapped. This was absurd. The right thing to do in this situation was to let Impa know about the danger so that all three of them could deal with it together. This man was very dangerous, especially considering he'd been able to… to overpower him and undo the magic of the Wishing Cap. What Zelda was suggesting was almost like…

 _It's almost like something_ _ **I**_ _would do,_ Vaati thought.

Impulsive. Reckless. That wasn't really her style.

And why was he suddenly the overly cautious one?

There was a knock on the door, and the two of them looked up at the sound of Impa's worried shout from behind the door. "Princess Zelda? Is everything all right?"

"Yes, I'll be there in a minute!" Zelda answered. Then, she held out a hand, beckoning Vaati to hop on top of it. Her blue eyes were stern as she said sharply under her breath, "Do _not_ let Impa know about what happened just yet, and make sure no one sees you." She added, " _Please_ let me do this. For me. This may be our only chance to catch the person who did this to you."

 _Impulsive, reckless, and impatient, too,_ Vaati noted. He'd seen Zelda, especially as Sheik, in even the most stressful situations and yet the Sheikah had always been able to handle things in a methodical, level-headed manner. Zelda wasn't acting like herself right now; she was letting her emotions take over.

Vaati gritted his teeth, not liking the idea at all. He stepped on top of her hand cautiously, and then he had to find his balance when Zelda stood up abruptly and rushed over to her dresser to find a white, fur shawl. Eventually, he said with a scowl, "Fine. But I'm coming with you."

Zelda put her arms through the shawl's sleeves, and she fluffed up its fur with her free hand. Then, she brought Vaati up to her shoulder where he could hide between the outfit's fur and her hair. "Of course you're coming with me," she agreed, "You're going to help me identify and find this man." She spent a few seconds righting some of the furniture that hadn't been broken to pieces during Vaati's fight, before she ran towards the door where Impa was waiting. Once Vaati was snuggled and hidden on her shoulder, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Zelda slammed it shut behind her before Impa could get a good look at the damage inside. "There was a draft and I was feeling a little cold," Zelda explained with a smile, waving away Impa's worried expression and pointing at the fur shawl she was wearing.

Impa's eyes glanced between the door and the princess, and her lips flattened for a moment as though she wasn't buying her story. However, she trusted that Zelda would let her know if there was anything seriously wrong, so she didn't press her. Instead, she shook her head with a sigh. "Have you seen Vaati recently?"

"No," Zelda replied, and she casually ran her fingers along her hair so that it would fall over the hidden wind mage. She also made sure to give a light pat on the fur of her shawl where the Minish was, since he'd apparently lost balance and was wiggling in a way that was tickling her neck. She coughed lightly to cover up an angry squeak. "Why do you ask?"

"I need to alert him to the fact that there may be a suspicious character wandering about."

At this, Vaati's ears twitched. _Oh believe you me I know,_ he thought bitterly, and then suppressed the urge to sneeze from all the strands of hair and fur that was getting in his face.

Impa continued, unaware that the sorcerer in question was hidden atop Zelda's shoulders. "I cannot find him anywhere and I doubt that he's suddenly become good at hiding his tracks."

 _I do not care about hiding! I am the most powerful sorcerer in the world, such an individual has no need to hide,_ Vaati scowled, offended that his skills were being criticized. He held his nose when he finally sneezed, which earned him another warning tap on the head from Zelda.

"Where was this individual? Did you confront them?" Zelda asked.

At this, Impa shook her head. "Do not concern yourself too much over this, princess, though I do ask that you be careful and to not wander off on your own. I'm not completely sure if what I saw was a person or a trick of the light."

Zelda, however, was convinced that Impa had indeed seen a person sneaking about. "Where did you see them?"

"In the courtyard, about half an hour ago," Impa said reluctantly, and she returned a tired gaze at the princess who looked just about ready to go investigate on her own. She frowned disapprovingly, letting Zelda know that she did not like the idea of her going off to try and find this possible intruder.

Meanwhile, Vaati's mind was racing as he thought about what Impa had just said. _But that was when I was following the suspicious man to Zelda's room,_ Vaati thought, going over where he'd seen the masked man half an hour ago. They hadn't been close to the courtyard at that time, so unless the man had a way to be in two places at once, the person Impa had seen could not have been him.

 _He's not working alone, then._

That shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Whatever the masked man had been after, Vaati doubted that it was for something simple like a petty theft. No, it was more than likely that he wasn't working alone.

"I promise to be careful, and I'll be sure to let Vaati know if I find him," Vaati heard Zelda assure Impa, before she began to walk down the stairs towards the banquet hall. He snuck a peek over her shoulder to make sure Impa was out of earshot before he gave a light tug on one of Zelda's strands of hair.

"Zelda," he hissed, "The man we're after; he as an accomplice."

The princess made no indication that she'd heard him, and instead nodded to some of the servants she passed in the halls. She laughed lightly, covering her mouth with a gloved hand when they complimented her on her looks, and made her way to the doors that led back to the party.

She pressed a hand on the door, and the fake warmth in her eyes vanished for a brief second when they were replaced with cold determination.

"More for us to catch, then," she whispered, and opened the doors to step back into the crowd of people who were blissfully unaware of the princess on a hunt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati usually enjoyed parties, balls, banquets, what have you. He liked throwing himself in the middle of a social gathering and winning the gaze of everyone there, especially since he had a knack for stealing people's attention. However, now that he could do nothing but watch from his perch on Zelda's shoulder, he found the party to be tiresome and irritating, and the more the night went on the more he wished Zelda would have just canceled the damned thing.

Right now it was about an hour in since the two of them had returned to the banquet hall in order to bait out the masked man or his accomplices, but he'd caught no sign of anyone suspicious.

Instead, he'd had the pleasure to watch over a dozen pitiful nobles, a vast majority of them men, who attempted to steal Zelda away for some of her time. He bit his cheek and did his best not to cause a scene, but it was getting increasingly difficult not to jump out and bite the fingers off the next hand that tried to get touchy. He was becoming so distracted by these attention seekers that he was having a hard time staying focused on their main objective of trying to find the masked man. The nobles were getting on his nerves.

Like this guy, who was trying to start a conversation with Zelda right now. He was a young man, unremarkable in all of his features. Vaati labeled him as ugly, as he'd done for all the others who'd tried to talk to the princess earlier. His temper flared when he thought about how Zelda was probably going to smile and talk to the guy anyway, since she was too friendly and welcoming for her own good. He was not looking forward to having to spend more precious minutes of his life listening to her conversation with this bright-eyed fool.

"Excuse me, I'm not in the mood for conversation."

At this, Vaati looked up in surprise, wondering if he'd really heard Zelda decline or if he'd picked up someone else's voice. His eyes widened even more when he saw a visible scowl on Zelda's face, which was unusual since she normally kept up that fake, polite smile when she was out in public.

 _Well this might be interesting,_ Vaati thought, a devious grin tugging at his lips. He couldn't help but remember all the times Sheik had jokingly confided the things he wished he could say to people who annoyed him when he was Zelda. To be honest, after seeing Zelda navigate Hyrulian politics, he thought that the Gerudo Witches had made a good point when they'd claimed that the Hylians should be more straightforward with what they meant.

Zelda blinked, and she, too, appeared surprised by her own tone. The young man who'd come up to her looked shocked from the blunt rejection, and the princess hastily apologized, not because she was wrong to turn him down, but because she was startled that she'd broken her own social mask. "I mean, I am feeling a little tired and would prefer solitude," she corrected herself hastily.

Vaati groaned. Just when he thought he could see a good show, Zelda was going to bring this conversation back to the "yes please, thank you, how is your uncle doing?" of boring, 'acceptable' social chatter. With a sigh, he buried his face into the fur shawl in aggravation when the young man brightened again.

"The crowd does get tiresome, doesn't it?" he said as he offered her a drink.

 _He's going to offer to take her away, isn't he,_ Vaati rolled his eyes.

"Would you allow me to take you somewhere quieter? You look unwell, and the noise of the people here would only make it worse."

 _See? I knew it. And then she's going to decline 'nicely' so she wouldn't hurt his feelings, but she doesn't realize that it's only going to get him to try harder._ He glared when the young man came closer, close enough that Vaati could jump from Zelda's shoulder to his. Then he noticed that the man already had his hand on her waist. _Why am I even here right now?_

Without warning, Vaati felt his foothold become unsteady and he had to hurriedly cling to the fur of the shawl so that he wouldn't be thrown off of Zelda's shoulder. He heard a thud and a yelp, and the sound of breaking glass. When he peeked out from his perch, he suppressed a cackle when he saw the young man on the ground with shattered glass and spilled drink around him. The man appeared confused by what had happened, and Vaati couldn't blame him; Zelda was extremely fast with her disarms and suppression moves.

Before anyone could say anything, Zelda strode off, out of the banquet hall and outside the main gate for some fresh air. She looked bewildered, her lips torn between a grin and a frown like she was both pleased and horrified by what she'd just done.

On one hand, she'd had enough with people getting overly friendly with her without her consent and had been wanting to do that for a long time. On the other hand, the entire purpose of holding a birthday ball was so she could gain the favors of a few powerful nobles to help with relief efforts, and what she'd done was counterproductive.

What surprised her the most was that she was usually good at keeping her feelings hidden and in check, and she was good at playing the social game. It wasn't like that was the first person who'd gotten grabby with her before, and yet this time, she couldn't fight the impulse of just knocking that man over and pouring his drink over his face. She'd also been angry. Unusually angry.

"Can I give you my opinion?"

Zelda heard Vaati's voice from her shoulder, and from the way it was strained she could tell that he was holding back a snicker.

"You should do that more often."

She looked towards her shoulder and sure enough, she could see the mousey Vaati peering at her with a shit eating grin on his face. Zelda couldn't help but smile with an exasperated shake of her head, and she flicked a finger at his tiny nose.

Vaati was about to protest, his nose wiggling after getting flicked, but instead froze when he noticed something. His tail bristled and a chill ran down his spine when he sensed a familiar aura, and he urgently tapped Zelda's shoulder. "Magic. To your left, that way," he said sharply.

Zelda's smile vanished instantly, and her muscles tensed. "How do you know?" she asked. As a magic adept herself, she should be able to faintly sense powerful magic, too, but she couldn't pick up anything.

Vaati was about to explain how the Minish were more sensitive than other races to magic, but he bit his tongue. She didn't need to know about the Minish just yet, or ever, for that matter. "I just do," he replied instead.

Zelda nodded, knowing when to not press an issue further. A hidden dagger appeared in her right hand, and she made her way towards the direction that Vaati was pointing at. The breeze picked up the conversation from within the castle, but other than that the night was deathly quiet. The wind pulled gently at the hem of her dress, and Zelda wished that she could handle this in Sheik's uniform instead. Transforming now was out of the question, however, because while there weren't many people wandering around outside, there were one too many to take the risk of someone seeing her.

The two of them didn't encounter anyone suspicious until Zelda was about to round the corner of the castle. Just as she stepped out of the corner, her peripheral vision caught someone running at her frantically. Zelda tried to get out of their way, but the person had been going so fast that they ended up slamming their shoulder against her, knocking them both onto the ground. She'd been about to ask them if they were okay until she heard Vaati shouting, "Him, it's him!"

At the same time that Vaati was shouting, she heard a different voice yelling at her. It was Impa, and she saw her guardian running at them with her huge greatsword drawn. "Stop that man!"

Zelda whirled around towards the person who'd crashed into her, but they had already gotten back onto their feet and was trying to make a run for it. She gripped the dagger that she had in her hand tightly, and then aimed for the back of his knees to cripple him. It would have hit, except the person had chosen at that moment to turn back to take a look at his pursuers and noticed the dagger flying towards him. He swung himself around, and rather than hitting him behind the knees, the dagger hit the man's shins that were protected by armor.

Though the blade was deflected by the shin guards, the man lost his balance and fell on the ground backwards. Zelda and Impa caught up to him before he could get back up.

"No, that's not the masked man," Zelda heard Vaati whisper.

 _His accomplice, then._

The accomplice was a young man whose face was covered by a black cowl, and a mask that covered everything below his eyes. If Zelda didn't know any better, she would have thought that this person had an uncanny resemblance to Sheik, except that the strands of hair that fell in front of his eyes were black with an almost purple shine, and his clothes almost looked like a black and purple version of Sheik's uniform.

Something about that description reminded her about a conversation she'd had with Ravio and Shadow Link. They, too, had met someone who reminded them of a Sheikah when they had gone to fight Dethl in the Dark World, except…

 _He looked a lot like a Sheikah. Except, you know, with different colors. More blacks and purples than your whites and blues._

Zelda's eyes narrowed, and her blue eyes met his red ones. Was it possible that this was someone who'd come from the Dark World? But how could that be?

Zelda watched his eyes widen in surprise at seeing her. She couldn't shake the feeling that the accomplice was staring at her in fascination.

Zelda grabbed two more daggers that she'd kept strapped, hidden on her leg, and she pointed one at the young man on the ground. "I urge you to come with us peacefully," she ordered.

The man said nothing. However, she could tell from the way his catlike eyes squinted that he was smirking behind his mask.

 _Why can they never turn themselves in quietly?_ she thought, and she crouched, ready to react on a moment's notice.

"Zelda, be careful. If he's anything like the masked man then he's going to be trouble," Vaati urged.

Zelda nodded and she glanced at Impa who had caught up and was next to her with her greatsword. At least this time, they had him outnumbered two to one. She hoped that was going to be enough.

* * *

fleets: a lot happened this chapter! A lot of unexplained stuff that I'm sure a lot of you have figured out already ;) (like hey hey why is Zelda being Vaati-ish?)  
Some other questions for future thought: why is Minish Vaati visible to adults? who's the masked man and what's that mask? what's so bad about sharing Triforces? The Sheik lookalike is Tenzi, isn't it (for you tumblr folk)?  
(lol make sure i get to answering these questions in the actual story, up and coming, because while i don't think i will forget, it's likely i might since. i'm a forgetful person and all. haha whoops)

 **plum:** Just imagine how angry Vaati's going to be when he finds out (whistles). Ahhhh thank you I still haven't really learned to pace as you can see (3 days between updates omfg what am i doing)

 **AquilaMage:** Hahaha yeahhh leave it to Vaati to screw up. Again. But now that Zelda's gotten a little Vaati-like impulsiveness he won't be alone anymore in his screw ups! ... yay?  
These two are adorable together but they'll pull their own teeth out before they admit it :P  
Yeahhhh he's uh... well Zelda knows he won't be happy about it. Too bad she's making that same mistake from demonbound about keeping secrets :O

 **Reily96:** haha i haven't even said who they are yet! xD  
I wouldn't say the last chapter was a cry chapter. Actually I think this story is more like an "ouch my heart" story rather than a waterfall weeping story. Then again, I've been horribly wrong about this in the past and I may have become numb after going over the plot of this story over and over again. I can safely say that this story is only going to get worse in the heartache sense, though :D  
Oh man. Your comment. hahahaah  
Abridged Chapter 3:  
Vaati: dies  
Zelda: oh fuck no im no necrophiliac im not kissing a dead guy (revives Vaati)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** he's learned a _little_ from being with Sheik and Impa. Unfortunately probably not enough :P

 **CatrinSara:** Ahhh thank you! I'm happy you liked it! :D

 **Ai Star:** You guessed it! It's where the title gets its name, too :)


	5. Burden of Secret

fleets: ummm, not sure what to say here. I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Burden of Secret**

Zelda and Impa had the accomplice cornered, but she didn't like how unconcerned he looked, like he knew he could get away if he wanted to. The princess's palms glowed with the white light of magic, ready to attack if he tried something. She kept a careful eye on him while Impa approached from the side with a coil of chains in her hand.

The accomplice's eyes darted between the princess and her guardian as they approached, and he hopped back onto his feet lightly, watching them from a low crouch. For several tense seconds, they watched each other in strained silence while the merry laughter and music from the castle drifted by, unaware of the conflict going on outside. Then, to Zelda's surprise, the accomplice raised both hands over his head slowly.

"I see I am outmatched. I will come quietly, like you asked," he said.

Zelda could practically hear his smirk from behind his black mask, and the magic in her palms flared a little when she tensed even more. Something about this was too easy; he had to be planning something. After what Vaati had said about the first one, these people, whoever they were, sounded like they would be able to overpower her and Impa if they wanted to. She stole an uneasy glance towards Impa, who also didn't seem to be convinced that the intruder was being truthful.

The man straightened up from his crouch, his hands still in the air. He noted Zelda and Impa's mistrusting gazes. "I'd like to think that we are not enemies," he explained, nodding to the princess.

Zelda heard Vaati snort, and she shared the sorcerer's sentiments. "Is that so?" she asked curtly.

The man held out his taped hands towards Impa, allowing her to tie them together. He winced just a little when she gave them an extra pull to tie them tighter, and Zelda couldn't help but be relieved that, at the very least, the man was human enough to feel discomfort.

Zelda waited for an explanation on why this young man claimed that they were not enemies, even though he was undoubtedly someone who was working with the other man who had attacked and almost succeeded in killing Vaati. Well, _actually_ succeeded in killing Vaati. Now that she thought back on his words, however, he hadn't actually said that they weren't enemies; just that he _liked_ to think that they weren't.

Normally she wouldn't have paid attention to such detail in conversation, but this person reminded her of Sheikah, and Sheikah often took advantage of subtle sentence arrangements that played on people's assumptions for truth. That, and he didn't exactly present himself as the trustworthy type.

She waited a few seconds, but still the young man seemed like he wasn't going to bother elaborating why they weren't enemies. Once again, she had that nagging thought that this person reminded her of the Sheikah. The Sheikah, at least really skilled ones, knew not to run their mouth, something that Vaati sorely struggled with. It could have just been a coincidence that this man was almost pointedly avoiding necessary conversation despite looking like he had much to say, but at the same time…

Maybe he did have something to do with the shadow tribe.

"Take him for interrogation," she said to Impa.

As soon as she said so, she felt like someone had gripped her throat, a sense of uneasy fear that she couldn't say was entirely her own. For reasons she couldn't explain, she suddenly had a feeling that the accomplice would be able to escape unless she knocked him out. She needed to attack him. Beat him. He wasn't safe.

"Zelda, are you all right?"

Zelda's ears perked at the sound of Impa's voice, but she kept her gaze on their prisoner who was watching her coolly with his calculating red eyes. Whenever Impa used her name to address her, she knew that something was seriously wrong, but she couldn't turn her head away from the man. She knew that she probably looked unwell right now, but she couldn't bring herself to calm down.

Then, she noticed that the man wasn't looking at her, but something on her shoulder.

He was looking at Vaati. She could see the man's brows raise slightly upon seeing the Minish, and then she saw them furrow, his hooded gaze becoming something like a glare. It didn't escape her notice that his fingers twitched like he was ready to pounce, to snatch Vaati from her shoulder and take him away.

And Vaati's expression, too, unnerved her. His hair was standing on its ends, his tail fluffed up like a panicked squirrel's.

 _Attack him first. Attack him_ _ **first**_ _before he attacks you!_

Instinct overtook her usual, level headed judgment. Her right hand shot forward, magic flaring like a spear of light towards the young man. In the background, she could hear Impa yelling at her to stop, but her voice was drowned out by her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Time seemed to slow as the attack charged towards the accomplice like a dragon of lightning. She saw those intense red eyes look up at her and narrow slightly, before they vanished completely. The chains that had been tied around the man's wrists fell loosely onto the grass when the prisoner disappeared without a trace, and Zelda's frantic attack continued forward through empty air until it hit the wall some distance away, leaving a soot-stained mark on the stone.

"Where…" Zelda looked around, trying to figure out where the prisoner had gone. There was no way he could have vanished like that, not with his hands tied. He shouldn't have been able to cast any sort of evasive spell in his situation.

Unless, however, if he'd been like Shadow Link, and could move in and out of shadows at will.

"Damn it!" Zelda shouted, and began to run towards the path that led to the gates leading out of Hyrule. She didn't take more than three steps, however, when a firm grip around her wrist stopped her. She whirled around, a snarl flashing on her face before she came face to face with Impa's stern expression. Zelda's face fell when she finally realized how she was behaving. "Impa I…" she began, shrinking away from her guardian's intimidating gaze.

"Forgive my tone, princess, but what's going on?" Impa asked, her voice sharp and intimidating.

"I'm just feeling a little stressed and-"

"What's that thing on your shoulder?"

Zelda froze midsentence, and she was almost afraid to look where Impa was pointing. She slowly dared to glance towards her shoulder, and she knew what she was going to see. As expected, Vaati was sitting on her shoulder, not even bothering to hide, and he had his tiny arms crossed over his chest as he pointed his chin towards Impa. Zelda's voice rose in frustration, and almost like a mirror, Vaati, too, shot a look at her that suggested that he was upset as well. "I told you to stay hidden!" she snapped.

"We just lost our opportunity to capture either the masked man or his accomplice, so I see no reason why I have to remain hidden from Impa," Vaati retorted, refusing to back down. "She needs to know what happened."

"Are you blaming me for letting him go, is that it Vaati?"

"No! You're not acting like yourself, Zelda, and we all see that! Something's clearly wrong and-"

" _Nothing is wrong with me!_ "

"Enough!" Impa stepped forward, plucked Vaati off of Zelda's shoulder and placed him on the palm of her hand. The Minish frowned a little, bearing his teeth at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning to Zelda. The princess, meanwhile, clutched her head in her hands as though cradling a growing headache, and she appeared more ashamed by her behavior now, than angry at Vaati.

Impa's gaze flickered between Zelda and the tiny creature in her hand, and her brows furrowed further in concern when she began to piece together what was going on. While she was surprised by the fact that Zelda had called this creature 'Vaati,' she was more surprised by the princess's strange behavior. It was almost like she'd become a different person, someone who was more prone to acting out on impulses, swayed by emotions, and someone who could not control their anger. In fact, seeing her argue with the mouse-like thing in her hand, it almost looked like she was acting like Vaati himself.

The corner of Impa's lips curled into a frown, and her free hand curled into a fist when a terrible thought occurred to her. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly, and then opened her eyes again to look at the creature in her hand. He was about as tall as her thumb, and looked like a mouse wearing purple robes. Still, there was no doubt in her mind that those keen red eyes were those of someone she knew. "Vaati," she said, and paused to watch the creature nod in affirmation. "Show me your hands."

At this, Zelda looked up sharply. "No, wait!" she cried, reaching out towards them. As she did so, the gold mark of her Triforce glowed softly on her right hand, alongside Vaati's glowing on his paw. Zelda shrunk back, afraid, when Impa raised her head towards her with her eyes wide.

"I-Impa, I can… I can explain," Zelda stammered, holding her marked hand close to her chest. She backed away slowly, unable to bear the way Impa was looking at her.

Impa, the one who comforted her when she was afraid, the one who had always been her pillar of support, actually looked fearful.

Zelda reflexively shut her eyes tightly when Impa began walking towards her, and she waited for angry yelling. She knew Impa had every right to be angry at her, angry enough, perhaps, to even leave her service and disappear into the far reaches of Hyrule where the last of the Sheikah were said to still walk. After all, the princess had abused the power of her Triforce in a way she never should have done.

Instead of punishment, however, Zelda felt herself being pulled into an embrace, reminding her of the times back when she was a small girl who was struggling with her parents' passing. Zelda opened her eyes in surprise as Impa hugged her tightly, shushing away the apology that had been about to spill from her lips.

"My poor dears," Impa whispered, "everything's going to be okay."

Zelda's arms dropped to her sides at Impa's words, allowing herself to be embraced. She nodded slowly into her guardian's shoulders, and the corners of her mouth tugged into a melancholic smile. Zelda rarely cried ever since her parents died, but a tear threatened to roll down her cheeks as she was overwhelmed with emotion.

Despite what Impa said, everything wasn't okay. She wasn't sure if they were ever going to be okay, because she and Impa both knew that what she had done might not have a solution. She clung to her guardian's words anyway, because in truth she was afraid, and she welcomed any gesture that could give her hope that things were going to turn out fine.

The fact was that saving someone from the dead was a grave offense, an unacceptable infraction in the laws of nature. People readily assumed that magic could solve any problem, but this was not the case. While magic, mostly dark magic, existed that could allow one to snatch a dead soul back to the world of the living, all of them involved terrible consequences. More often than not, the consequences involved trading in a life for a life, and using the power of the Triforce to save someone was of no exception. There was a reason why necromancy was regarded with utmost disgust.

Using her holy privilege for something that was technically necromancy was probably worse than what dark magic practitioners did. What she did was sacrilegious, too, wasn't it?

Using half of her Triforce's power to allow Vaati to live was but a temporary solution. Eventually, the Triforce would try to become whole again and one of them would have to pay their dues.

Eventually, one of them would have to die.

Zelda felt strong hands grip her shoulders firmly, and she raised her eyes to Impa, who had her knees bent so that she could see the princess's lowered gaze.

"I'm going to tell everyone at the ball that you are feeling unwell, and then I'm sending them home," Impa explained softly, concern on her face.

Zelda nodded, looking up briefly but lowering her eyes again when she couldn't bear to see Vaati watching her with a mix of both concern and suspicion from atop Impa's shoulders. She couldn't let Vaati know the truth about what she had done to save his life. Not yet. Hopefully not ever.

Impa sighed, a heavy weight on her chest. "Let me lead you up to your room. The three of us need to talk."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in her room, Zelda picked up her scattered belongings and broken furniture while the sounds of the party quieted and the music stopped, no doubt from Impa letting her guests know that the celebration was over. She'd barely spoken a word to Vaati, who sat quietly atop her bed as he watched her put her room back together again. The silence was stifling, and the princess wished that the former sorcerer would say something, anything, rather than give her a judgmental stare like he knew that she was hiding something from him.

It brought her back to the times when she'd lied to him about his true identity as the infamous sorcerer, back when she'd lied to him about being 'Fuu.' He'd looked at her the same way, then, and just like back then he didn't press her about what she was hiding from him. Instead, he looked at her in a way that suggested that he knew that she wasn't telling him everything, but was waiting for her to break the ice first.

Still, there was no way she could tell him. She was willing to suffer through these pointed stares if it meant that she could spare him the cruelty of knowing the cost of keeping him alive.

Zelda looked up in visible relief when she heard a knock on the door and Impa's voice asking to enter. Cleaning her room was only doing so much to keep her distracted from Vaati's gaze. "Come in," she said.

Impa walked in, shutting the door behind her quietly, and immediately walked over to the chair by the window. She sat down, hanging her head like she was suddenly overcome with fatigue. The creases along her eyes appeared darker, and she looked more aged than Zelda had ever seen her. Impa briefly scanned the aftermath of the fight that had occurred in Zelda's room, and the Sheikah shook her head to herself. Normally, she probably would have scolded Zelda for not telling her about the attack earlier, since she now knew why Zelda had been acting so strangely when Impa had approached her here a few hours ago. However, Impa's mind was full of troubled thoughts and she no longer had any energy for anger.

"Tell me everything that has happened," Impa said, but her tone suggested that she really didn't want to know what had happened that caused Vaati to become a tiny mouse-creature, and had forced Zelda to use the one spell she should never use.

Zelda nodded, and then walked over to join Vaati on the bed; she figured she would need to be sitting to make it to the end of the conversation. She kept her distance from the Minish, like she was still nervous about his silent brooding, and then began to recount what had happened, with occasional pauses to let Vaati fill in the gaps to the story.

She tensed a little when they got to the part where she saved Vaati. While she insisted that she'd found him unconscious, she anticipated Impa to ask her why she couldn't just get a fairy to help her if Vaati had simply been out cold. However, Impa said nothing, only listening quietly with a thoughtful look on her face. Zelda relaxed a little, knowing from Impa's expression alone that the Sheikah guardian was willing to keep the deal with the Triforce sharing a secret from the wind mage, but she expected that the two of them would have a lengthy conversation about this later.

Even so, judging from the way Vaati was watching her with those calculating and perceptive eyes of his, Zelda knew that it was going to be difficult to keep the details of his recovery a secret for long. Her gut twisted at the thought of telling him the truth; still, tonight was not the night that he would find out about what happened. Too much had happened… it was completely selfish of her, but she wouldn't be able to handle telling him tonight.

Vaati recounted the rest of what happened when Zelda trailed off, suddenly distressed with guilt and unable to continue. His previously stern, suspicion-filled gaze softened a little out of concern, and then he gave a small, aggravated sigh before turning to Impa to continue the narrative. Like Impa, he, too, didn't press her about what was wrong.

A flicker of gratitude warmed her heart when she thought about how lucky she was to have two people who understood her so well that they could pick up on her emotions without her having to say anything. Unfortunately, it was quickly replaced with even greater guilt for her behavior, and she rested her head in her hands tiredly.

Once Vaati was finished catching up to when they'd run into Impa, the older Sheikah sat for some time watching the two of them without a word. For a few seconds it looked like she was having trouble what to ask first; indeed, there were so many questions about what had happened. Finally, after some long deliberation and a heavy breath, she straightened up in her chair. Looking at the tired faces of both Vaati and the princess, Impa decided to impart information, rather than ask questions.

"I believe I know what kind of people we are dealing with," Impa said, and she was somewhat consoled when life returned to the other two's eyes, which had previously been darkened and cheerless.

"Other Sheikah," Vaati said.

"Interlopers," Zelda corrected.

Impa noted Vaati's confused expression as he looked towards the princess with a frown. "You are not entirely wrong, Vaati. However, the Sheikah, the real Sheikah, no longer associate ourselves with those that were banished to the Dark World many, many years before my time. We call them the Interlopers, and they do not deserve any other name," she explained patiently, though a slight terseness had crept into her voice as she tried not to be offended by the sorcerer's ignorant remark.

"Dark Wo-," Vaati started, crow's feet appearing on his forehead when he became increasingly confused. "You're saying these people came from the Dark World?" His nose wiggled and he threw his hands up in the air, "That's impossible. We destroyed the one thing that connects this world to theirs."

"Who's to say that another way hasn't opened?" Impa asked. "You saw the way the man escaped the chains around his wrists by melting into the shadows. You recognized how the man you fought with, and the second one we all encountered, moved like Sheikah. But what makes me believe that we are dealing with the Interlopers and not some rogue Sheikah imposters is because of the mask that your assailant wore."

At the mention of the mask, Vaati stiffened, and his tail flicked uneasily. "What is it?" he asked, his eyes squinting into a pained expression as he remembered his humiliating defeat against the power of the mask.

"Truthfully, I am unsure," Impa replied, and she held up a hand when the tiny rodent-like creature flashed her an insulted scowl. "However, there is an old tale of the Fused Shadow, a powerful mask that the Interlopers sought to create, and perhaps succeeded in creating. Its power was so great that it had the ability to control the Triforce itself." A shadow passed over Impa's face, and she murmured, "Vaati, you were a sorcerer who was strong enough to force us to use our most powerful magic against you to keep you from overrunning Hyrule. It took the magic of our princess herself to even come close to stopping you. And yet, despite that, it took less than an hour for you to be completely stripped of your power against the masked man."

Vaati snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "So perhaps I miscalculated and made a mistake," he spat unhappily.

Impa, however, shook her head. "I do not think it was simply a miscalculation. You describe the mask as legendary in power, similar to how powerful the Fused Shadow would be. As powerful as you. Perhaps even more."

Vaati fluffed up, clearly upset at the suggestion that he'd been outmatched by his opponent from the start. His teeth were bared for a moment and he looked ready to argue, but he eventually took a deep breath and curled back to sulk. Deep down he knew that what Impa had said was right; he still couldn't shake away the chills he got from thinking about his encounter with the masked man. He knew that she knew. It was pointless to argue.

"Well, since we're dealing with these banished Sheikah, then why don't we ask Hyrule's Sheikah for help, hmm?" Vaati asked, still bitter about having to admit his complete and utter defeat.

"Vaati…" Zelda warned, and she stole an uncomfortable glance towards Impa who's lips had flattened into a thin line.

"It's their problem just as much as ours," he snapped.

" _Vaati,_ " Zelda repeated, more sternly this time, while Impa shot her a small smile telling her not to bother. Zelda frowned, and then exhaled slowly through her lips. They were all on edge right now, and the sorcerer couldn't have known that what he was saying was unfortunately offensive. She could feel the surface of anger and hurt burning in her chest, again at an intensity that was unusual for her, but this time she bit her tongue and forced herself to calm down. Though she wasn't completely certain about her theory, she was beginning to suspect that there were some unintended consequences about sharing the Triforce, one of which was heightened sensitivity to each other's emotions. "We cannot involve the Sheikah into _our_ problems," she explained calmly, stressing 'our'.

For a split second, Vaati looked about to argue his point, but something seemed to click and he stopped himself. His weight, which had been on his toes earlier to make himself taller, dropped back so that he was sitting on his heels again. He blinked, not entirely sure why his anger had suddenly managed to calm itself down.

 _I don't believe it,_ Zelda thought, _this is crazy, but the two of us… are we…?_

 _Well it certainly would explain why I was feeling exceptionally irritable earlier._

"Fine," Vaati grumbled instead. "But we still need to find that mask again so I can turn myself back into my _real_ self." The Minish spread his arms exasperatedly, waving at himself and bringing attention to his new, rodent-like appearance.

Now that Zelda was attuned to how the two of them might be sharing emotions, she noticed the small flame of a feeling that she was sure was not her own. She wouldn't have been able to tell from Vaati's show of bravado, from the way he tossed his hand over his shoulder like it wasn't a big deal, but she could sense his fear beneath the beating of her own heart.

This fear, though, it wasn't just any fear. It wasn't the fear of someone who'd simply been turned into a small, admittedly adorable, creature. No, this fear came with an _insecurity_ , that perhaps everything they'd ever had at this point was but a dream. It wasn't the fear of losing something that rightfully belonged to them. It was the fear of losing something they'd wrongfully gained.

Perhaps Vaati had noticed Zelda looking right through his act, because he suddenly froze, his breath caught in his throat and his waving hands dropped slowly to his sides. His red eyes twitched, and the insecurity that Zelda had felt surfaced on his face for a few fleeting seconds.

And then, she realized something peculiar about Vaati's situation: why in Hyrule had the masked man bothered to turn him into a small, mouse-like creature in the first place?

"Vaati," Zelda asked quietly, "Do you know why the masked man turned you into a… into a mouse?"

"Why would I know?" Vaati snarled, lashing out with more anger than necessary.

"I believe it would be more accurate to say he was turned into a Minish."

They all turned towards Impa, who'd also been observing Zelda and Vaati's interactions with interest. Vaati bristled at the mention of the tiny race, while the princess turned to Vaati, open-mouthed in surprise.

"The mythical race from fairy tales?" Zelda exclaimed, "But they aren't real, are they?" The tales of the tiny Minish had once been popular hundreds of years ago, but now the stories were rarely told. Zelda only knew about it because Impa had a habit of telling her all sorts of folktales and legends in and around Hyrule, but never once did she imagine that the Minish were a real race. She'd only assumed that they were fun tales meant to encourage kids to behave, since the stories went that the Minish only appeared to kindhearted children.

Zelda saw something dart away from the corner of her eye, and when she turned around it was too late: Vaati had dashed off towards the broken window with surprising speed and hopped out into the night. "Vaati!" she shouted, running towards the window. She caught sight of his small silhouette hopping across the tiles of the castle roof below.

Zelda gritted her teeth, and before Impa could stop her, she transformed into the lithe-figured Sheik and slipped through the broken window and after Vaati. "Sorry Impa, I have to go," he said quickly before vanishing.

Alone in Zelda's room, Impa shook her head sadly as she looked out the window. She felt at a loss on how to help her now two charges. She never would have expected it a year ago, but she felt responsible for Vaati now, too. He wasn't the same evil sorcerer who'd terrorized Hyrule anymore, but a brash child who reminded her of Zelda in some ways.

Impa ran her hand along her face, and she slowly walked back to sit down in the chair. If her guess was right that the princess had shared her Triforce to save the sorcerer's life, then…

She truly wanted to save both of them, but she wasn't sure if there was a way. And if there wasn't…

Impa's fingers lingered against the red Sheikah paint along her left eye.

 _I am sorry that I wasn't there to help you two._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sheik was much faster now that he didn't have to wear a billowy dress, and he wished he could have been himself back when they'd confronted the masked man's accomplice. However, after hearing Impa talk about the dangerous Fused Shadow, perhaps it had been a good thing that they'd let him go for now, because they certainly weren't ready to face something so powerful without preparations.

It didn't take him long to catch up to Vaati, who'd scampered to the end of the slanted tiles of the roof below the main tower. He was perched on the edge of the roof with his fingers curled into tiny fists as he looked down at the faintly glowing torch light from Castle Town in the distance. Sheik approached him cautiously, unsure if his presence was welcome.

Vaati's ears twitched at the sound of Sheik's footsteps, but he continued to keep his back turned to him. He said nothing, pointedly ignoring the Sheikah as he angrily glared out at the world.

Sheik stopped several paces away, far enough to allow Vaati some privacy but close enough to let him know that he was there if he needed him. Sheik crouched atop the roof, perched on his toes while he waited patiently.

Sure enough, Vaati addressed him first; he wasn't very good at staying quiet for long if he had something to say. "What are you doing here?" he growled, turning his chin slightly, but still with his back turned.

"I said something that upset you," Sheik replied. "You ran off."

Vaati's nose wrinkled into an irritated snarl, and his silence suggested that what Sheik said wasn't wrong.

"I'm sor-"

"Quiet," Vaati snapped, interrupting him. He whirled around, and began to stomp over but stopped short when he realized that 'stomping over' no longer had the same effect now that he was only inches tall. He grimaced in frustration, and then he waved his paws at himself in defeat.

"You want to know why I look like this?" he hissed, disgust brimming in his voice.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Don't you dare pity me," Vaati snarled, baring his teeth. Then, embittered by how he was lashing out unfairly to Sheik, he turned back around to pace along the rooftop. He did this for a while until he couldn't take Sheik's patient silence any longer. Vaati's steps slowed until he was standing beside the crouching Sheikah, and he sat down next to him with a heavy sigh. He turned his head in shame, and his voice became a low, barely audible murmur. "It's because I used to be one. A _Minish_. This… this is me."

Sheik didn't say anything, though his expression softened behind his cowl. He could tell that it took Vaati great difficulty to admit aloud that this tiny creature was something that he'd once been. Though Sheik had a hard time believing that the infamous Sorcerer of Winds had once been this harmless ball of fluff no taller than his thumb, he couldn't doubt Vaati's pained confession. He took a deep breath, and then he, too, extended his legs to sit down next to Vaati rather than keep his crouch.

Vaati smiled bitterly. "Go ahead. Laugh. I've long since passed the point of caring."

At this, Sheik lifted his head and turned towards the Minish with a frown. "I'm not going to laugh, Vaati," he said quietly. He noted the small tilt of Vaati's head, indicating that he was listening. "I understand not being happy with what you were born as. Believe me, I do."

Vaati didn't respond, but from the way his shoulders lowered slightly, Sheik could tell that he'd gotten through to him somehow. The two of them didn't say anything for a while, and watched the lights of the town go out one by one. It was getting late, and they should have retired a while ago, but too much had happened and neither of them could fall asleep any time soon. Vaati seemed as though he was going to stubbornly remain on the roof for a while longer, but he also never once asked Sheik to leave. They remained on the roof in somber silence until only a handful of lights remained flickering from the town.

"Sheik."

The Sheikah stirred from Vaati's sudden voice, raising his chin from the knee he'd been resting it on.

"I wasn't dead, was I?" Vaati asked.

Behind his cowl, Sheik's expression darkened, and his shadowed face turned away from the Minish to stare out at the night instead. He muted his feelings of guilt, so Vaati wouldn't sense it as well and figure out the truth.

He couldn't tell him.

Not now.

"I made sure that you weren't," he responded, without a single waver in his voice.

After all, that was all that mattered.

* * *

fleets: ok things got a little heavy there maybe. i feel like i should have more to say here, but i don't. thank you so much for your comments and support, and i'm feeling a lot better about my writing now that we're back to sheik again! (i was actually feeling a little weird about my writing these past 1,2,3,4 chapters, but i always feel a little weird when a story's just starting so idk. your encouragement really helped me through it though!)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** (eep you saw my other message tho). ANYWAYS yeah I was thinking about that, and it was really hard to introduce a noticeable difference in Vaati's personality since Sheiky Zelda is not very emotional haha. Well, it takes a whole lot for them to get emotional whereas Vaati's like a constant rageball of bad decisions. We might see more explanation later maybe. Vaati's not really the type to go into a whole lot of detail about his past, and Sheik's not really the type to press for more info so we didn't get a whole lot in this chapter :O

 **Ai Star:** Even if they did catch him, he would have been able to get away easily, so probably better now than later :3  
And yup you got it! :)

 **icfehr:** Hmm, I'm a little confused by your confusion. I guess your question is, why isn't sharing allowed? I was mostly inspired by how Twilight Princess handled this, in the scene where Zelda gives Midna the power of her Triforce to save her: TP Zelda puts her life on the line in that scene, and she disappears. I figured that, in this case where both parties remain, there has to be consequences (especially since I'm going by the assumption that mucking around with Life and Death is a much bigger deal than, say, granting someone the power of a super powerful god or something :P). The consequence in this case is that there's no such thing as saving someone from certain death: it has to be a life for a life, since all life is sacred. Hope this clears things up!

 **AquilaMage:** Hahaha, Vaati has his priorities straight xD  
Zelda kind of figured out what was happening but she'll struggle with this some more, I bet. It's kind of difficult to show Zelda's emotions in Vaati since she's a very emotionally controlled person as Sheik :O

 **plum:** Ahhh thank you! I do like to keep people on their toes, so I'm always happy to hear that something was unexpected :)  
(eeep i'm trying really hard to but for some reason pacing myself is. really unexpectedly hard. there was a bit of a longer break this time so self control is hopefully getting better?)

 **Peregrine777:** And now real Sheik is in the house! They couldn't quite interrogate him, but we'll be seeing more of him soon don't you worry :3  
Thanks so much Peregrine!


	6. Sheik

fleets: ... so i wrote an AN for this earlier but then my internet crapped out on me and erased everything, so here's the condensed version of it (i'm sorry if this comes across as irritated because i am so mad at my stupid internet right now for deleting everything i'd written earlier, including chapter edits):

reminder: this story is an AU. That means I want you to forget about all of the LoZ theories that you might have and toss them out the window, because they probably won't fit at all with the Alternate Universe that I am writing here.

In particular, I'm treating all 'dark' alternate worlds of Hyrule as the same thing, which includes but is not limited to Dark/Twilight/ShadowRealm/Lorule. Please DO let me know if you ever see anything consistent with what _i've already explained in this story_ to something I write in the future, because that means I didn't explain the rules of this universe properly. Please do NOT try to argue that my story doesn't make sense because x-y-z doesn't fit with canon theories (because this is an AU).

thank you! :D

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Sheik**

It was late by the time Vaati and Sheik made their way back to the princess's room again. Sheik wasn't sure how long they'd been outside, but judging how all of the lights had gone out, they'd been there for quite a while. Vaati had been stubborn about not being the first to go back, and Sheik had been unwilling to simply leave him there by himself. Exhausted from the Interloper incident as well as from the party itself, which Sheik hadn't been too fond of, the Sheikah found himself nodding off when he'd felt something climb up onto his shoulder.

"Let's go back," Vaati had said, he, too, with a tiredness in his voice. As Sheik stretched and stood up to take the both of them back indoors, Vaati added with a mumble, "Don't tell anyone about what I said today."

Though Vaati remained vague, his strained tone made it clear that he was referring to the talk about his past. Sheik nodded, letting him know he understood.

When they approached the broken window that led back to the princess's room, Sheik stopped just below the tower. It was one of the few rooms that was still lit with torchlight, and the faint orange glow shone against his shadowed expression. "Why did you tell me?" he asked quietly.

Sheik's fingers clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms after hearing the Minish's response. Vaati's response hurt, not only because it was accusatory, but because his tone reminded him too much of what they'd gone through when the sorcerer had been 'Fuu.' While Sheik was good at hiding his emotions and keeping secrets, Vaati had always been uncannily perceptive and sensitive to deceit, and his response made it clear that Vaati knew that Sheik was withholding something from him.

Vaati's tone was stern, though not unkind. Perhaps upset, but only because he was worried. "Because you deserve the truth," he said.

There was an expectant pause, like he was waiting for a response, an explanation from Sheik to tell him just what it was that he was hiding from him. The Sheikah placed a hand on the stone wall of the tower, his eyes narrowing as he frowned at the shine of the Triforce on his skin.

For all they said about him holding the Triforce of Wisdom, Sheik didn't know what to do, and the goddess blessed power sure wasn't helping. Was it right to tell Vaati the truth, that he'd brought him back to life only so that… if Sheik couldn't figure out a way to fix this somehow… only so that Vaati would have to die a second time? Or so that Vaati could watch Sheik die instead?

No. No, that wasn't right. It was cruel to do that. To tell him the truth; how could he?

But to continue to deceive him, when Vaati knew that he was being deceived and yet patiently waiting for Sheik to tell him on his own time, wasn't that also cruel as well?

 _You're just afraid of what he'll do if he finds out the truth; afraid of what he'll do if you can't find a way to save you both._

 _Afraid that he'll be willing to die like he should have._

 _You haven't learned a thing._

 _You don't trust people to make their own decisions._

 _Why don't you trust them?_

Because he couldn't trust them, he asserted to the voices in his head. The Sheikah, especially those of the royal family, weren't known to be trusting. They couldn't afford to trust anyone. They could only rely on themse-

 _Bullshit_.

Sheik would have clenched his jaw, if he wasn't so trained, so practiced at hiding his expressions.

 _Why don't you trust them?_ the voice repeated, already knowing the true answer.

Because the people he'd trusted the most had left him, alone, to be someone he wasn't ready to be to a kingdom he never asked for. Because it hurt less to suffer by yourself than to trust someone and have them leave you.

 _I'm afraid._

Sheik jumped up nimbly, grabbing on to the window ledge above them and skillfully pulling himself up to it. There was an afterthought of a squint in his eyes, a hint that he was upset by the accusations of his own mind. He let Vaati's unspoken question hang, even when it became a stifling, uncomfortable silence.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Vaati, he told the voice in his head as he carefully stepped through the broken glass and jumped back into the princess's room. He probably trusted Vaati more than he ever allowed himself to trust anyone. After everything they'd gone through, Sheik could say comfortably that Vaati was one of the few people he could trust with his life.

The problem was that he couldn't trust Vaati with his own.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sheik woke early next morning to sneak out to find Impa alone. With the princess's room's window still broken and with Vaati still only a few inches tall, both Sheik and the Minish had retired in one of the castle's unused guest rooms for the night. It hadn't been too hard to sneak out of the room without Vaati finding him, since the sorcerer still had trouble waking up in the mornings. The Sheikah left the fuzzy sorcerer curled up between folded shirts in one of the dresser drawers that had been used as a tiny, makeshift bed.

Sheik needed to talk to Impa about what he had done, as he hadn't been able to speak of the matter in front of Vaati last night. He'd tried to get a few words with her just before they'd retired, but the older Sheikah had insisted that it was late, and such a serious conversation should only be done when both of them weren't tired.

Sheik found her already awake just outside her room on the other side of the castle. From the way she looked up in a startled fashion, it seemed like she, too, had been on her way to speak to him as well. Sheik looked away, guilty when he saw the traces of dark circles under her eyes: she, too, hadn't been able to sleep last night.

Sheik could feel her gaze on him as he waited for her to say something. She seemed surprised that Sheik was still Sheik today, and was not the princess. It was rare for the princess to walk around the castle as her Sheikah persona.

Without a word, Impa pursed her lips and opened the door to her chamber, inviting him inside. Sheik sighed, anticipating the uncomfortable but necessary conversation that was to come, and then stepped through the door, taking a moment to hopefully find peace in the familiarly simple room. On one side of the room was a plain bed with simple white sheets. On the other, was a wall with two polished great swords hanging from a rack, as well as assorted other weapons. The Lens of Truth that he, Vaati, and Shadow Link had recovered from the Water Temple was also on display.

His heart sank when his eyes fell on a picture that was spread on the table nearby. He recognized the scrawled, childish drawing of two people holding hands. The taller scribble of a person was Impa from her distinguishing white hair and red Sheikah paint under her eyes, and the shorter one was the young princess with her pink dress and dagger in her other hand. He remembered when he first showed it to Impa, and how the older Sheikah hadn't been too happy about the dagger in the picture: it wasn't something a little princess should be carrying. Of course, she'd ended up giving him a real dagger after he'd managed to convince her that he could have one if he wasn't going to be a princess, but a Sheikah like her.

The picture was something he'd drawn a long time ago, and from the way it was freshly crinkled along the edges, it was clear that someone had been holding it recently.

"Impa," he whirled around, apologies threatening to spill forth. He quieted when Impa held up a hand, her intense eyes already steeled from knowing what this visit was about. Sheik walked towards the table with the drawing when Impa motioned for him to sit, and he absentmindedly picked up the drawing that he'd done years ago, back when things had been simpler.

She remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest. A fleeting look of anger appeared on her face, mixed with frustration as well as sadness. It was the kind of look that knew that it was too late for anger, and that there was no use to be angry towards someone who already knew that what they had done was wrong. "My purpose was to protect you, and I wasn't able to stop you from doing this to yourself," she finally said. Her tone still contained hints of anger, but it was not anger directed towards Sheik, but anger directed towards herself, since she hadn't been there to stop him.

Somehow, that made Sheik feel worse about the situation. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"You're not here to apologize."

Impa's voice was sharper than she'd intended, and she pinched the bridge of her nose when she saw Sheik flinch a little from her tone. She walked over to sit down and join him where he was sitting, the drawing of the two of them placed between them like a broken bridge.

"You want to know if both you and the sorcerer can live," she said, more kindly now. She sighed heavily when Sheik nodded, a barely noticeable tilt of the chin. "Child, there's a reason why I told you to never use your power in this way. The decision to save those already dead is not ours to make, and Death will come and claim the life you denied them, be it yours or Vaati's."

Both Sheik and Impa didn't look at each other. Impa, because she didn't want to see the hurt on his face. Sheik, because he'd already known what she was going to say. "Is there no other way?" he asked, though his defeated tone suggested that he was ready for the worst.

"I do not know. I'll do whatever it is in my power to find a way to help you." Impa rested her forehead against her hands as though to nurse a headache. She closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face. "Why did you do this?" she asked after a while, "You knew enough not to go down this path even when you wanted to bring your parents back."

At this, Sheik's expression darkened behind his mask, and his fingers clenched tightly at the mention of his parents. What Impa had said was true: as devastated as he'd been by the death of his parents, he'd stopped himself from using the power of the Triforce to wish them back to life. Yet this time, he hadn't been able to let go and accept death. He couldn't accept it.

He didn't have a good answer for her. He wasn't even sure if he had a good reason for himself, because it had simply been a matter of knowing that saving Vaati was something he had to do. There had been no rational 'why' to it. He would risk his own life without a second thought if it meant he could save the sorcerer.

And he knew Vaati would do the same for him.

"If it comes down to it, I will save you before I save him."

Impa's words caused Sheik to look up with a jolt. His eyes widened, and he sat up in his seat, reaching for her hand in protest. "Impa-" he started, but was cut off when Impa stood up from her seat abruptly, knocking her chair over in the process. He sat, stunned, when her calm demeanor finally broke and she shouted at him.

"I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself!" she roared, slamming her hand against the table. The gust picked up the drawing of her and Zelda, and it fluttered to the floor while shocked silence filled the room. There was a rustle as the paper touched the floor and settled on the stone.

Impa glanced at the drawing, and then she looked towards Sheik. He kept an emotionless expression on his face while he kept his gaze on the ground, but she could tell from the way his bottom lip was curled ever so slightly that he was shaken. Impa's shoulders rose and fell, another sigh, and she walked over to pick up the drawing from the floor.

It hurt her to see him like this. She practically raised him like her own after his parents had died, and she knew how he suffered. First losing his family, and now this...

She was afraid of how reckless he would be with his own life if it meant he could be spared from facing loss again.

"Does Vaati know?" she asked softly, placing the drawing between some books on a nearby bookshelf. She understood Sheik's silence that he hadn't told the sorcerer yet. In a more serious tone, she asked, "Are you going to tell him?"

"I can't."

His response was quick, like he'd already spent hours consumed by this question. It was punctuated, and ended abruptly, stopping any further continuation of the conversation.

Impa nodded sadly. She knew when not to press Sheik, and this was one of them. Though she hoped that he would eventually have the courage to tell Vaati the truth, she knew it wasn't something he could be pressed into doing. The look on Sheik's face, with his brows pulled together and his eyes shadowed with self-loathing, showed that he already knew everything Impa could tell him. He knew that he should tell Vaati the truth. If Vaati found out the truth through Impa, or if he found out that Impa had persuaded Sheik to tell him the truth, it would only cause both of them more pain.

Sheik sighed, and managed to put together a sentence, a contrast to his sullen silence from before. He rubbed his fingers, and he spoke slowly, deliberately, feeling the weight of his words as he made his request. "I wanted to ask something else," he said. He finally looked up so that his eyes met Impa's, and the depth and intensity of his gaze was daunting. "I want you to look after Daphna, my decoy, as though she were Zelda. The real Princess Zelda."

Impa didn't realize her breath had stopped while Sheik completed his request. She turned away, knowing the implications of what he was asking her to do. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pulled back momentarily into a grimace, but she spoke calmly, feigning ignorance. "Why would you want me to do such a thing?" she asked.

"In case I don't survive this-"

"Don't say that," Impa cut him off sharply.

Normally, Sheik would have listened to Impa when she used that serious tone, one that warned him that he was pursuing a line of conversation that should not be pursued. However, he'd already made up his mind, and Sheik was stubborn once he'd decided on something.

"I want to know what it's like to _live_ ," he said, his voice louder now. Gone was his brooding and subdued demeanor, which had been replaced with a fierce fire that only showed itself when he was truly determined about something. "I don't want to see the end of my days, trapped in this castle and crushed under the weight of my crown."

"You're not going to die. I won't allow it. I won't have you speaking to me like your death is a possibility," Impa replied harshly, pounding her hands on the table and leaning towards Sheik who'd also stood up to meet her gaze.

"All I'm asking for is one season. For one season, let me be me. Let me be Sheik!"

Impa stared at him, quieting under Sheik's outburst that had been so full of emotion. There were few times when he raised his voice like that, and it took her by surprise. She exhaled, and suppressed a small, defeated smile that had been about to steal itself onto her lips when she remembered the old drawing that she'd put back on the bookshelf. The way they were arguing now was reminiscent of what had happened when little Zelda had asked her for a blade of her own. The young princess had been dead set that she would grow up one day to be a proud shadow warrior, just like Impa, and the guardian hadn't been able to discourage her. The name 'Sheik' had been born then, when the child had picked the new name for herself, inspired by the name of the tribe itself.

 _I'm going to be you for one day, Impa, and you're going to be the princess! I can't be Sheik if I don't have real weapons like you!_

Impa wished that the origin of their argument now was as innocent as the one in her memory.

"That crown of yours is not something that can be given to another so easily," she said slowly. Her voice no longer contained resistance, like she already knew that she'd lost.

"You said it yourself, Impa," Sheik pressed, "I've been away from Zelda so often these days that Daphna might as well be the real princess."

Impa's words were borne from obligation, now. There was no conviction behind them, like she was saying them because they were simply words that should be said. "It isn't as simple as that."

"And why can't it be?"

 _Why not, indeed?_

Impa didn't even realize that she'd been hanging her head when Sheik walked over, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't simple, because of what it meant. Because if she agreed, it was like she was accepting the possibility of his death.

She looked towards him, pleading, begging almost, to give her a sign that he wasn't going to just throw his life away. When she saw the corner of his eyes soften, and the intense gaze become subdued, she brought him closer and hugged him tightly. "Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself," she whispered.

Sheik buried his face against her shoulder. He knew that it was her way of saying that she would agree to what he asked. "Thank you," he breathed.

"Promise me," Impa insisted.

Sheik took a deep breath, and gave her the only truth that he could at the moment. "I'm not going to give up," he murmured, and he felt the other Sheikah's shoulders relax a little, taking comfort in his words. "I'm going to keep looking for a way out of this, don't worry."

Impa nodded. It was the best she could get from him, given the circumstances.

* * *

fleets: This chapter was really important to me because it's the reason why I insist that this story is VaaSheik instead of VaaZel. Yes, Sheik and Zelda are the same person, but Zelda is Sheik (if you get what I'm saying).

fff i'm still annoyed that this doc deleted itself after i'd typed up all of the responses to everyone.

i think we're overdue for something happy in this story, yeah?

 **Ai Star:** We'll see more of those two again! :O  
and yeahhhh Impa has gone through a lot (poor sheikah mom :(

 **AquilaMage:** That's exactly what happened D: (she realized it's pointless to get angry when Sheik already knew that what he did was wrong).  
There's quite a lot going on in this story... I think I can address them all but whack me if it seems like I'm wrapping up and I forget to tie loose ends  
Iiii may or may not be hinting at something more than just a simple 'zelda doesn't like being a princess" :P This chapter gets at it even more. I'm not going to flat out say what it is, here, (though you already know what I'm talking about) until the very last chapter because my other hope with this story is to change people's minds (or at least have them be more open minded) if they have bigoted views regarding this thing i'm talking around about :P

 **icfehr:** oh my god. OH MY GOD. I COMPLETELY forgot about WW broken triforce pieces because man that experience of finding them all was so awful i think i repressed those memories damson. I guess in this case you can say that the Triforce can't be shared, especially if it's to keep someone alive who should have been dead. That's a big nono Sheik.  
And yup! I'm treating all 'dark' alternative worlds as the same thing :)

 **plum:** PLUMMM i'm sorry i apparently don't know how to pace myself (crying).  
but ahhh thank you so much your encouragement is so heartwarming and gets me through the tough times in life (like when internet decides to crash and erase everything you wrote in the last 30 minutes)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** You're kind of right, in that it would take a lot of teethpulling for Vaati to admit that if it hadn't been to Sheik ;)

Can't tell you if that's right or wrong yet (though I'm sure you knew that haha). I'm also going to try not to give away whether or not Vaati or Sheik can or can't be saved. I'm hoping to keep everyone guessing a while yet :D

 **Lunamew:** The focus of the feels train is on Vaati and Sheik, but Impa is definitely another victim :(  
oh man i love playing as Zelda. i need to try her other weapons but rapier sure is fun!


	7. An Obscured Conspiracy

fleets: I Am Very Sleepy.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: An Obscured Conspiracy**

When Sheik returned to the guest room, he found Vaati already awake, though still in his drawer bed. Although Sheik was still emotionally exhausted from his conversation with Impa earlier, a fleeting smile appeared on his face at the sight of the tiny sorcerer sprawled out on the folded shirts and staring up at the ceiling. Sheik had noticed, in the few times he'd had to wake Vaati from napping, that the sorcerer had a tendency to lie on his back and stare skyward when he was waking, like he was daring the goddesses to move him out of bed. Now that he was a Minish and his cheeks were naturally puffy like he was permanently pouting, Vaati couldn't help but look shamefully adorable as he lay with his tiny paws spread on either side of him.

"You were up early," he said as he rolled over onto his stomach and pulled himself up to look at Sheik from over the edge of the drawer. His bright, beady eyes watched the Sheikah carefully, noting how Sheik absentmindedly tugged at the edge of his scarf. Vaati sat up a little straighter when he realized that something was on Sheik's mind.

"I had to speak to Impa," Sheik said, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. He sat, stiff and uncomfortable for a while, until he finally decided that he could relax and slowly stretched his legs straight. Normally, he didn't like to lay on a bed while in uniform because he didn't like to dirty the sheets with it, but today he couldn't be bothered.

Vaati blinked. It wasn't really like Sheik to relax like that in front of anyone, even to him, who he was pretty close to. Sheik, whether it was due to his training or his naturally careful character, almost always had a sharp gleam in his eye like he was alert for any unusual activity. Vaati would have suspected that something was very wrong if it weren't for the fact that Sheik looked almost relieved.

Like a weight had been lifted.

"Ah, princess duties start early, do they?" Vaati asked, attempting conversation and trying not to sound too curious.

"You could say that," Sheik said vaguely. He allowed himself to fall on the bed, the sheets soft and comfortable against his skin.

Vaati scowled irritably at the Sheikah's ambiguous response. He'd confronted Sheik before about his annoying habit of being unnecessarily vague at times, but he'd gotten nowhere with the conversation. From the way the corners of Sheik's eyes crinkled a little, like he was silently laughing at him, Vaati knew that Sheik was being vague on purpose right now.

Before Vaati could go into a squeaky tirade, Sheik explained with a smile hidden behind his scarf, "I'm stepping down from the throne for a while."

Vaati's scowl fell, and his eyes widened in surprise. He blinked a few times, wondering if he'd misheard. Of all the responses he'd been expecting, this was not one of them. "What? You can do that?" he asked.

"I've asked Impa to have Daphna take over. She'll be a… good Princess Zelda."

The Minish pulled himself up out of the dresser drawers and scampered up to the top. He was about to say something, but then bit his cheek when he realized that, being as tiny as he was at the moment, Sheik could simply turn his head the other way and easily ignore him. Muttering under his breath about the inconvenience of being small, Vaati slid down the dresser on to the floor and disappeared from Sheik's sight.

After a few minutes, he reappeared on the bed again after a long climb up the bed post, and he hopped indignantly onto Sheik's chest while looking mildly out of breath. "What's all this about, Sheik?" Vaati demanded, poking the other on the chin, "You can't just stop being the princess."

Just as Vaati had expected Sheik to do earlier, the blonde turned his head away to ignore the sorcerer's question.

However, it wasn't easy to ignore a critter, no matter how small, sitting just below your chin while they persistently attempted to grab one's attention. Vaati hopped down and walked around so that he was right in front of Sheik's nose. "And Impa just… let you do that?" he continued incredulously. " _Impa_ is just letting you stop being the princess?"

Vaati had a hard time believing this, especially considering the number of times Sheik had been dragged back to the castle to fulfill his responsibilities as Hyrule's ruler by an aggravated Impa. And now Sheik was saying that the princess's protective guardian had approved of them leaving the throne after _a single conversation in the morning?_

Sheik sighed, giving in when he realized that Vaati wasn't going to let this one go until he got a satisfactory answer. "Princess Zelda will still exist. She's not a real person, Vaati," he said slowly, rolling his head away again but this time looking up at the ceiling instead. "She was more like a symbol than anything."

Vaati frowned, sitting back on his hind legs and holding in a breath. Although Vaati wasn't all that surprised about Sheik's attitude towards his 'Zelda' persona, it was the first time he'd admitted it out loud. Before the sorcerer knew Sheik very well, he might have asked why it wasn't 'Sheik' who wasn't the real person, but he knew better now. Zelda wasn't as alive as Sheik was, almost like she was a puppet with human skin over its frames. There was no blood rushing underneath, unlike for Sheik who always had that focused intensity in his red eyes of someone who skirted close enough to death that they knew what it was like to live.

Still, for Sheik to actually say out loud that Zelda "wasn't real" was unusual. Vaati had the impression that Sheik avoided talking about it because, deep down, he knew that he wasn't allowed to say such things, and yet the Sheikah had admitted it easily now, like he'd completely detached himself from Zelda.

There was something Sheik wasn't telling him. Something important. Something serious.

"Give it time, and Daphna will take her place in the minds of the people."

Vaati had been so lost in thought that he hadn't realized he'd been completely silent for the past several minutes. He looked up at Sheik, who was still watching the ceiling emotionlessly. The Minish's eyes narrowed slightly, and he grimaced. "This is about me, isn't it," he said flatly, his question coming out as a statement.

For a few seconds, Sheik was unresponsive and his expression remained unchanged. Then, a flicker of amusement crossed his face, and he teased, "It's always about you."

Vaati gave an aggravated eye roll, forcefully pulling his sneaking smile into a serious frown. He wasn't going to let Sheik deflect his question with sass. "Well, yes, but you know what I meant."

Sheik considered this for a while, as though mulling over what to tell Vaati. He couldn't tell the sorcerer what the conversation with Impa had really been about, but he supposed there was a way to give him some truth. "You're going to be with me for a while until we have a better idea what the Interlopers want," he said. It wasn't a lie, though it wasn't, of course, the main reason he had requested temporarily leaving his position.

"I don't need a babysitter," Vaati scoffed, puffing out his chest.

"Perhaps not, but I would prefer to have someone watching my back."

"Now you're just making fun of me," the sorcerer snapped at Sheik who was watching him with an amused expression.

The Sheikah fell into a tired silence, and Vaati watched him with a small frown as Sheik rested his eyes. Sheik was done explaining things to Vaati for now, and for all the sorcerer could tell, his explanation was true. It made sense to have the two of them stay together, in case the Interlopers came back to eliminate Vaati, a witness to their attack, or Zelda, their real target. They would be less likely to suspect Sheik as their true target, and it was reasonable for Vaati to stay with him since Sheik was one of the few people who knew what the talking mouse was.

It took a moment for Vaati to figure out just what it meant when Sheik said that they were going to stay together.

The shorter fur along his cheeks bristled, and he looked around the room wildly like a terrified rodent. They were going to be… sharing rooms? They were going to be sharing rooms.

He couldn't really identify why this bothered him - well, no, 'bothered' wasn't quite the right word to explain how he was feeling right now. He didn't mind, but the thought… startled him. Sheik was a private person, as was he, and for the Sheikah to easily suggest that the two of them live together was…

Well, all he could think of right now was the word 'startling' repeating itself in his head.

Sheik was one of the few people he truly respected, and in some ways looked up to, and that was saying a lot considering there had never really been anyone in his entire existence Vaati had regarded so highly. While he was still upset that the Sheikah had defeated him so handily in so many sparring sessions, even in those where he'd been allowed to use the full extent of his magic, he couldn't help but appreciate the other's skills. Back when he was still Fuu, Vaati remembered feeling admiration, even. Maybe he still admired him a little, though he'd never tell Sheik that to his face. The Sorcerer of Winds had been humiliated enough already.

Vaati mentally kicked himself, wondering why in Din his thoughts had to run off in that mushy direction. This _situation_ wasn't a big deal; he'd had no problems before when he'd shared rooms with Shadow Link. Granted, he'd kept Shadow in a closet, but still. He was completely overreacting. This wasn't like him at all.

Vaati stole a glance towards Sheik, making sure the other hadn't noticed his sudden agitation. The last thing he needed right now was for Sheik to point out that he was looking extra fluffy.

To his surprise, the normally observant Sheik hadn't noticed Vaati's struggle at all. And was it just his imagination, or did Sheik look a little flustered, too, with his scarf pulled up over his face a little further than usual? The Sheikah's eyes were open again, like a bothersome thought had poked his lids awake.

Now Vaati was _sure_ he was going crazy. Maybe he didn't get enough sleep last night, and his head was going loopy. Stoic Sheik, being flustered at the same exact time as he was (and for no apparent reason)? It sounded stupid enough just thinking it.

Sheik had yet to tell him about the other side effect of sharing the Triforce.

"I don't like the idea of having someone watch after me," Vaati finally grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the spot between his feet with a sour expression. "I dislike being a burden."

At this, he heard a soft chuckle, and Sheik had his eyes closed once again. "And I dislike fancy dress parties," he said. "I am glad I have the opportunity to be me. Would you be my excuse to remain like this for a while?"

Feeling somewhat better that Sheik hadn't noticed his earlier agitation, Vaati allowed himself to relax a little. His usual cocky attitude returned, hiding whatever was left of his jumbled thoughts. He scoffed, shaking his head with a grin. "Don't tell me this," he waved his paws at his Minish-turned self, "was all an elaborate scheme to convince Impa to let you run away from your duties?"

There was another light chuckle, and a murmured "you got me," from Sheik.

"Well, I suppose I can deal with being a magical rat if I can help you. Just remember, you owe me."

They remained in comfortable silence for a while. After some time, however, Vaati noticed that there was something wrong with how still Sheik was. While Sheik often had a habit of blending in with the shadows, there was something about him this time that was different enough that caused the little Minish to lift his head, concerned.

Vaati took a few steps towards Sheik cautiously. However, he soon relaxed when he realized that nothing was wrong at all. Sheik remained lying on his back, one hand over his chest that was rising and falling in deep, slow breaths. His expression was tranquil, a rare expression on someone like him.

Sheik had passed out completely.

 _I guess he was tired_ , Vaati thought. It was the first time that he'd seen him with his guard down like this, though perhaps this was the first time that Vaati had seen him so exhausted.

Maybe Sheik did need someone watching his back after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sheik had accidentally spent most of the day passed out on his bed, and he'd woken hungry and surprised that it was long past noon. He'd panicked a little, his mind going through all of the important duties he'd missed, until he remembered that he was no longer bound by his responsibilities. For the remaining daylight, he moved some of his belongings into the guest room while he and Vaati tried to figure out the best way to place furniture so the Minish could easily get from place to place without being stepped on. Bandages hung loosely down desks and drawers for Vaati to climb up and down on, and holes were carved in the corner of doors for him to go through. The sorcerer appeared embarrassed that they had to go through such trouble so that he could live a little more independently, but seemed grateful about the effort after they were done.

Aside from that, the day was, thankfully, uneventful.

Currently, Sheik was outside in the castle courtyard, hidden against the wall in the dark of the night. He had snuck outdoors by himself after Vaati had fallen asleep, as it was critical that the sorcerer not hear the conversation he needed to have. Though he disliked being so sneaky around the observant wind mage, he could not afford to have Vaati learn the truth about sharing the Triforce.

There was a mirror in Sheik's hands, and rather than casting his reflection back to him, it instead showed an image of a person on the other side. The mirror was a shard that had once been a part of the Dark Mirror, and Vaati had repurposed it so that they could use it to communicate with people in the Dark World. A nervous-looking young man in a purple bunny robe was chewing on his fingernails as Sheik explained what had happened to him and Vaati.

"That's terrible, Sheik. I'm not sure what to say…" Ravio fiddled with his dark hair, a deep black with a tinge of purple, as he thought about what Sheik had told him. The rabbit hood fell over his face as he did so, hiding his features that looked uncannily like Link's. He mulled over what Sheik had told him, while a small white bird with blue wings flew over and perched on his shoulder, concerned that its friend appeared so worried.

Ravio absentmindedly cooed "I'm okay, Sheerow," scratching the bird's head. Sheerow pecked at his cheek, still not convinced that everything was okay. The bird had been there during the first few days of Ravio's recovery from Dethl's nightmare induced trauma, and it was good at reading its human friend's subtle expressions. Before he had Sheerow with him, Ravio had trouble even talking to people with eye contact.

The Link lookalike tapped the bird lightly on his beak to stop the pecking, and turned his attention back to Sheik apologetically. "And you're sure that, you know, either you or Master Vaati is going to…" he trailed off, unable to finish the terrible sentence.

After all, Sheik had just told him that he and his old master was essentially living on borrowed time, and one or the other might die soon if they didn't figure out a way to somehow fix things. Unfortunately, it was incredibly vague as to what needed fixing. According to Sheik, he'd broken a cardinal rule in magic by reviving the dead, and there was something about splitting his Triforce in half that was going to be the untimely death of either one of them. Ravio wasn't entirely sure what Sheik was talking about since he wasn't as versed in magic, but the Sheikah sounded extremely certain that he and Vaati had death hanging over them. He sounded afraid, and Ravio rarely saw Sheik afraid.

He didn't understand the details, but he understood that things were horrible.

"I was hoping you might be able to learn something from the Dark World about anything that might be able to help my situation," Sheik said, avoiding Ravio's question, "Maybe Lorule might know something Hyrule doesn't. I admit I'm a little desperate for a solution."

"Well I don't know, but I can see if Princess Hilda might know anything," Ravio replied carefully, like he was afraid to impart false hope.

It was a good enough response for Sheik, however, who'd been hoping that Ravio would be able to talk to the princess of the kingdom in the other world. Ravio had once told him about a kingdom similar to Hyrule in the Dark World, called Lorule, and that it even had a princess who was like the mirror to Zelda. From what little Sheik had heard about the princess from Ravio, he understood that she was a skilled sorceress, perhaps with a power not unlike the Triforce. If there was anyone who might know how to help them, it was Princess Hilda.

"I'll see what I can do," Ravio said, though he didn't sound very certain of himself. "I'm getting worried about Princess Hilda, though, after hearing about those two attackers you ran into. You're sure that they were from the Dark World?"

"We suspect it," Sheik nodded.

Ravio bit his lip, causing Sheero to hop on top of his head worriedly. "I don't understand how that's possible, but…," he paused, a concerning thought coming to him as he thought about what Sheik had told him. He absentmindedly tugged on the floppy blue scarf wrapped around his neck and his eyes became hidden when the rabbit hood fell deeper over his face.

"What is it?" Sheik asked, holding the mirror closer to the torchlight above his head to get a better view of Ravio. The other boy seemed reluctant to answer, as though he didn't want to cause unnecessary worry regarding information he wasn't confident about. Regardless, he eventually folded under Sheik's insistent gaze.

"Well, it's just that the princess was recently telling me how she suspected something sinister going on, and she wanted me and Shadow to be careful," Ravio admitted, and he bit his lip when he noticed Sheik's expression tense. "That's why Shadow's not with me right now; Hilda sent him to investigate something in the Ice Ruins. I can't help but think that somehow, all of this," he waved his hands towards Sheik, "is related."

Sheik withdrew into his thoughts, mulling over this new information with a troubled frown. He agreed with Ravio that it was too much of a coincidence that Princess Hilda's concerns of a sinister plot would occur just when two Interlopers attacked Hyrule Castle. Considering how one of them had been in possession of an artifact that was powerful enough to easily take down Vaati, it wasn't much of a stretch to think that the people from the Dark World had somehow figured out a way to travel between the two worlds.

Sheik doubted that the Interlopers were up to any good, and he needed to figure out what they were after quickly. Irritation flashed across his face when he recalled how he'd allowed one of them to escape. He could still remember that sneer in the other's deep crimson eyes, an amused glint shining from behind dark bangs that fell over their sun touched skin. He'd etched as much of that face into his memory so that he would be sure to recognize it the next time they met. He wasn't going to let them escape again.

"… Sheik?"

Sheik suddenly looked up when Ravio brought him back to attention. He hadn't noticed that his expression had taken on a glare, causing the other to look at him with worry. Sheik shook his glare away, remembering that he was still in a conversation with Ravio.

Ravio opened his mouth to say something, and then hesitated nervously. He took a deep breath, lowering Sheerow from his head and placing the bird back onto his shoulder. For a second it looked as though he weren't going to say anything, but he got over his nerves and found the courage to ask something he'd been worried about since Sheik had first told him about his dilemma with Vaati. "Are you… are you ever going to tell Master Vaati about, you know…?"

Sheik sighed heavily. He should have been used to this question by now, considering how many times he'd gone over the same one himself, but his heart fell heavy every time he had to pick an answer. "I can't tell him," he repeated what he'd told Impa the night before.

"But don't you think he'll want to know?"

 _Of course he'll want to know,_ Sheik thought bitterly. Instead, he said tersely, "Ravio. You can't tell him about this."

Ravio's face fell to a frown. He looked up to Sheik, and as such he often listened to what the Sheikah asked of him. However, Ravio wasn't entirely convinced that Sheik was making the right judgment this time, and he struggled a to say what was on his mind. While he was glad that Sheik had been able to save Master Vaati from death, he wasn't happy about what it had cost to do so. He understood Sheik's point of view of not wanting to tell Master Vaati, but likewise he could see why it was wrong to keep it a secret.

A person deserved to know when their friend was in danger.

"He's going to be mad if he finds out you kept this from him," Ravio mumbled under his breath. And now that he knew about it, he, too, was an accomplice in keeping secrets. He could already feel the weight of its burden pushing down on his shoulders.

"There are worse things to deal with," Sheik replied curtly, not willing to debate this any further. He knew more than anyone that Vaati deserved the truth: he didn't need anyone else telling him that keeping Vaati in the dark was wrong. Sheik pushed himself off of the wall that he'd been leaning against, and began to walk back towards the castle. "Let me know when you find anything that might help us."

Ravio's disappointed figure with his sagging shoulders and shadowed eyes disappeared as the mirror's connection faded. Sheik tucked the mirror away into a small bag hanging from his hips, and he made his way back to his room. As he stalked past the night watch and walked through the castle doors, he couldn't help but wonder about the sinister plot that the princess in the other world had been worried about. The banished Interlopers, the Dark World, the masked man, Princess Hilda's concern, and the attack on Vaati that had been meant for him… Sheik knew that there was a story tying all of this together, though he couldn't put a finger on what it was yet.

His tired eyes moved towards the Triforce on his hand, glowing more faintly than usual now that its power was shared. _As if there weren't enough things to worry about already._

* * *

fleets: I was going to keep going but the sections became longer than I thought they would, so I'm going to stop here for now. I don't have much else to say, since not a whole lot happened. Ah well.

 **AquilaMage:** I agree with you there D:  
The premise of this story is probably one of the sadder ones I've written. I'm not sure if I what I would do if I were in Sheik's position: either telling the truth or keeping the death thing a secret... boy that's a tough call.

 **Lunamew:** feels-train has taken a brief break stop before we continue towards the wreck :P Although the main focus is Vaati and Sheik in this story, Impa is the one I feel really bad for since she's watching it all happen and can't really do anything about it...  
I said this before and I'll say it again: I love that idea and I'm saying that's exactly what happened :3

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Let it be known that I am not afraid to off characters in a story :P  
I do believe in giving people a fair amount of warning if it's going to be REALLY bad, as in if the genre isn't very angsty then it can't be _too_ bad yeah? yeah? (cough)  
I'll have bandaids for everyone before all of this is over :3

 **Ai Star:** Well I save the main document, but I usually write all of the reviewer responses and comments in one sitting. It's not too bad, unless I'm trying to submit this at 3am and I really want to get it over with and go to sleep D:

Sheik knows he should tell Vaati, but at the same time he's afraid of what Vaati would do if he does... it's a tough situation to be in and I don't know if there's really a right answer :(

 **Arridu:** It's not _too_ bad since it's been almost half a year since the Dethl trouble occurred, and Daphna has been filling in for Zelda quite often during that time (so much so that, as Impa said, she might as well be the real deal). You're right that the name was inspired by King Daphnes from WW though ;)  
As for your other question, I think it might get clearer once we get to later chapters but Lorule is a small part of the Dark World (kind of like how the 'Light World' has different kingdoms like Hyrule, Holodrum, Labrynna, etc.). Regarding the Twili, all I can say right now is that there is no 'Twilight Kingdom' in this story _as it is currently_. I don't want to talk much more about this yet, since I'm worried I might accidentally spoil something :)

 **icfehr:** Yeah that chapter was necessary (I think...?) because I needed to show why Sheik was going to be Sheik and not Zelda for a good chunk of this story. I hope it wasn't too boring D: 'fillers' usually are... yikes. Hahaha you've got me though! I figured people would like a brief break to catch a breath before the plot really starts to move forward. :)  
Vaati's thoughts on his mini form will come eventually!

 **Vesperupus:** I hope this chapter was nicer on the feels haha. You can expect that conversation to be a disaster... yeahhhh Vaati's not gonna be happy.  
If Impa didn't have white hair already she would have gone all grey right there. Impa's going through a lot, too, but she has to be strong because she's the only parental figure to those two crazy kids :(


	8. Respite

fleets: eyyyy I recently purchased Harvest Moon and I got really distracted trying to create a farm full of tomatoes (it's such a tedious game but there's something about planting crops that's really relaxing idk haha)

Anyways, here's a chapter. More on it at the bottom.

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Respite**

"Sheik."

"…"

"Sheik, you need to take a break. This is insane."

"…"

Vaati sighed, and then hopped down from Sheik's shoulders to run down the length of his arm towards the book that they'd been staring at for the past hour. Vaati crinkled his nose at the distinct smell of aging paper: while he'd once found it pleasant, spending an entire week and a half straight in the castle library made him less appreciative of it. He was at the mercy of wherever it was Sheik decided to go for the day, however, and apparently Sheik had plans to start early in the morning until late in the evening, sitting between ancient bookshelves to read and only taking food and restroom breaks in between.

Vaati had once thought himself to be a thorough reader when he was looking for information, but that was before he saw Sheik hunting through the pages: while the sorcerer found it acceptable to skip volumes that very obviously had nothing to do with whatever it was he was looking for, Sheik apparently believed that searching through literally every single book available was not only important, but necessary.

It would take months to get through all of the volumes. Years, even.

The Minish jumped on top of the book that Sheik was reading, a heavy tome on the geography of Hyrule including regions said to be myth, and he kicked the pages with his feet causing Sheik to lose the page he was reading. It earned him an appalled glare, but Vaati didn't care. He'd tried to say something about Sheik's almost desperation driven search a few days ago, but he'd let it go, thinking that this would pass eventually. It hadn't passed. They were still here. Sheik was a tired mess.

"Just look at you. You're starting to fall apart," Vaati frowned.

Sheik pointedly ignored him and tugged at the page to find the spot he'd been reading before Vaati had kicked the pages away. His brows furrowed when Vaati sat himself by the spine of the book, dangling his feet between the pages. One foot was stuck out against the page Sheik was trying to turn, preventing him from flipping the page.

The tiny sorcerer looked back smugly while Sheik continued to pull the page away from Vaati's foot to no avail. "Your scarf might cover your expressions but it can't cover those bags under your eyes."

Sheik gave another tug at the page, but stopped when he was worried about tearing the book accidentally. Even though Vaati was small, he was deceptively strong. Sheik thought he'd read somewhere during one of his readings that the Minish were said to be responsible for hiding helpful items and rupees for people to find: considering how a rupee was about the same height as a Minish, maybe their strength wasn't necessarily proportional to their size.

Sheik gave up on the book that Vaati was sitting on and dropped it on the growing pile of books on the floor next to where he was sitting. He grunted something in disapproval when Vaati casually hopped off before the book fell, and sat himself down on another book that Sheik had been reaching for.

"I want to know more about those bastards that did this to me as much as you do, and I appreciate your efforts, I really do," Vaati said, lazily waving a hand and picking at his nails. Even though he now appeared like an adorable fluff ball with a wiggling nose, Vaati still managed to throw around his pompous air that he'd carried when he was Hylian. "But what you're doing right now is insane."

"I'm fine," Sheik growled, annoyance creeping into his normally calm tone. He held back an aggravated sigh, refusing to let frustration get the better of him. He knew that Vaati was right; he could feel the fatigue settling down over his eyelids and feel the cramps beginning to burn into his shoulders from sitting in one place for too long. Still, he had to keep going. Even after searching through dozens of books, they'd found nothing they didn't already know about the Interlopers or the Fused Shadow. From the lack of information that was available on them, it was almost as though they'd been systematically erased from written record, only to exist through word of mouth.

Unknown to Vaati, Sheik was also trying to find any information regarding the Triforce, or of spells involving saving the dead. There had been no luck so far on that front, either, and again most of the information in the text was something he'd already known. He supposed any mention of forbidden spells like the one he'd done wouldn't be found in an open library like this one.

Sheik stubbornly reached up for another book in the bookcase in front of him. To his surprise, Vaati easily jumped up to his arm and was sitting atop the tips of his fingers before he could pick the book off of its shelf. Sheik blinked, not realizing that the Minish were so acrobatic. Over the past week, Vaati had grown used to his new form and had proven to be surprisingly agile.

"Like Subrosia you're fine," Vaati tutted, shooting Sheik a stern look. "Despite my current appearance, I'd like to point out that I am an accomplished magus who knows a thing or two about effective research practices. Studying nonstop like that won't help."

"I _also_ know a thing or two about studying, Vaati," Sheik retorted, though he lowered his hand back down towards his desk, giving up on finding another book to hold between his fingers. Instead, he returned a hard-edged stare of his own.

"And reading yourself into the ground worked out well for you in the past, did it?"

The stare broke, and Sheik turned away. It was difficult to hold a gaze when both parties knew who was right and who was wrong.

Although Sheik knew that Vaati had a point, he couldn't bring himself to take a break. Not when they'd made so little progress towards finding anything about the Interlopers or the Triforce. Not when they were running out of time.

"This is the first time you've been relieved of royalty duties for such an extended period of time, and you want to spend it doing this?" Vaati asked incredulously. He waved a paw at the pile of books that Sheik hadn't bothered putting back to their respective shelf space, and then towards Sheik himself, who was beginning to take on a high-strung tremor in his eyes from being holed up in the library for so long.

"I can't afford to waste time with frivolous things," Sheik replied, but he was beginning to sound less sure of himself. He kept his gaze away from the Minish, knowing that he'd find that same, concerned yet suspicious look on his face.

"You can when you need a break," Vaati said, refusing to budge from the issue with equal stubbornness. He stared at Sheik's side-turned face while waiting for a response, and he flattened his lips when he saw the Sheikah do that slow blink he'd often observed during the past several days. It usually meant that Sheik was going to ignore him again. Irritated, Vaati began sharply, "Look, even if you don't want to stop, I…"

Sheik finally turned around when he noticed that the Minish had stopped short of what sounded like the start of a rant. When Sheik waited for him expectantly to finish what he'd been about to say, Vaati mumbled "Never mind," and waved him away.

A slight twitch of the ears and tail didn't go unnoticed by Sheik, and it was the first time that he realized that Vaati also looked tired. Stressed, maybe. He hadn't really noticed it before since reading Minish faces was different than the human faces he was used to, but if he looked carefully enough…

Sheik's tense expression softened as he watched the Minish sitting on the desk with his head turned to the side. Rather than the usual pompous, arrogant glint in his eye, there was only a dull glow of half-hearted self-confidence. There was bitter cynicism in the crinkle of his brows and his smug smile was replaced with a tired frown.

All this time, Sheik had been so focused on trying to find a way to keep the both of them alive that he hadn't thought about what Vaati might be going through. The sorcerer had lost everything, and had been turned back into a Minish (and from the way Vaati spoke of them, he could tell that the mage held a deep resentment towards them). Vaati never once brought it up, but why would he? The wind mage was never one to willingly bring up personal issues that bothered him.

Sheik's fingers absentmindedly traced the Triforce on his own hand. Maybe the feelings of distress this past week weren't just his own. The sorcerer played off his own situation like it wasn't a big deal, perhaps because he didn't want to appear weak or because he didn't want anyone to worry, but Sheik began to realize that Vaati was far from fine.

He thought back on the argument he'd had with Impa. He remembered how he'd asked her to allow this one act of selfishness, to be Sheik so that he could know what it's like to be free. Sitting in a library while working his life away wasn't what he'd had in mind when he'd told her that, was it? Fixing things was one goal, but hadn't living been a goal as well? He'd wanted to spend time with the sorcerer, in case they could never again…

"All right," Sheik stood up abruptly, almost knocking Vaati over from the sudden movement. The Minish looked up, surprised to see a small, worn smile on Sheik's face as the blond said, "Let's go outside then."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

They made their way to town with Vaati hidden within one of Sheik's bags hanging from his waist. Out of habit, Sheik had almost gone off running towards town while keeping to the shade, before he realized that this time, Impa wasn't going to be chasing after him to drag him back to the castle. He could go where he wanted, do what he wanted, all on his own time. It was kind of intimidating to have so much choice, and he was glad of Vaati's company when he found himself walking in the middle of the street in broad daylight.

He'd swapped out his uniform for something that wasn't so eye catching: a faded blue tunic with long beige sleeves, and loose fitting sand-colored pants tucked into some simple brown boots. He still had his head and face covered with a white cowl, giving him the appearance of one of the desert traders who traveled to and from the Gerudo Desert. Sheik had saved the outfit after buying it off of a merchant, and until now he'd had no opportunity to wear something like it. He couldn't wear something like this as Princess, and Impa expected for him to be in uniform when he was Sheik.

No longer in uniform and no longer the princess, Sheik felt truly invisible for the first time in his life. It was a good feeling, to not be the focus of curious stares and to be able to do anything without worrying about how other people might see him. For the first time, he almost felt normal.

They walked around town for a bit, without any purpose other than to explore without the stress of knowing that Impa could show up and catch them at any moment. They stopped by a few vendors and listened to them gossip about their daily struggles, and Sheik was almost envious of how most of the people didn't even seem to think much about the recent disaster with Dethl, or the troubles brewing now. For the people in town, their worries were about immediate, almost mundane things, like whether or not they would be able to set aside work to make it to their nephew's birthday celebration. No one seemed to worry about the epic conflicts that went on while they slept, no one seemed to worry about whether they would wake to see the sun rise the next day, and no one seemed to remember the heroes who'd fought for them so that they could continue to worry about such ordinary things.

Briefly, Sheik thought about Link, and how his friend was still working with the Smith on the outskirts of town. They'd all called him a hero after his confrontation with Vaati a while ago, but they'd seemingly forgotten about him after Vaati had been 'defeated.' Sheik, too, had ended up distancing himself from Link after the events with Dethl, perhaps for the same reasons that Link often distanced himself from the people who once celebrated him as a hero. Just like how the townspeople couldn't understand what Link had gone through, Link wouldn't understand what Sheik and Vaati had gone through. He hadn't been there, and it wasn't something that could be explained. They were still friends, of course, but it was awkward trying to explain why he called the new Sheikah 'Vaati' rather than 'Fuu.'

Sheik found himself missing the time back when he, too, only had to worry about the mundane things as he spent time in town, invisible out of uniform. It was about an hour or so after he and Vaati had started wandering around town, and they were now sitting on some steps at the edge of an alley. Vaati had pulled himself out of the bag he'd been hiding in to stretch his legs, while Sheik carefully counted some pebble-like objects inside a cloth bag he'd purchased earlier.

"Quite the sweet tooth you've got there," Vaati noted, nodding his head towards the bag in Sheik's hands.

"I'm not going to eat it all at once," the Sheikah chuckled. The bag was full of hard sugar candy molded into colored, glassy spheres. It rattled in Sheik's hand as he spoke fondly of a memory. "Impa used to take me out to town sometimes. She'd help with my disguise so people wouldn't bother me about being the princess when I was out. We used to buy these as souvenirs from the trip." Sheik paused, and he lowered his head slightly when he remembered just how quickly those days of mundane worries had ended for him. "We stopped going after I learned how to rule a kingdom," he said quietly.

A clear red one rolled between Sheik's fingers, and he offered one to Vaati. He hid an amused smile when he saw that the candy was about half as high as the Minish was.

Vaati barely looked at it before he shook his hand at it dismissively. "Being turned back into a Minish was bad enough. If someone sees me with one of those things?" he shook his head, his nose crinkled in disgust. When he noticed Sheik with an eyebrow raised in puzzlement, Vaati explained huffily, "It ruins my image as arch demon of the skies."

At this, Sheik scoffed. "Life's too short to worry about what other people think of you." He stole another glance at the tiny mage, and refrained from mentioning that whatever image Vaati had had regarding 'arch demon of the skies' was already shot to pieces now that he was an adorable two-inch-tall, beady eyed, bushy tailed creature with cheeks like marshmallows who could make even the most coldhearted person blush.

"Life is _all_ about what other people think of me," Vaati retorted. Sheik placed it next to him anyway, though, and Vaati bit his lip, glaring at it. The Sheikah already knew that Vaati secretly liked sugar.

About a month ago, Sheik probably would have agreed with Vaati's comment, since his entire life had been about maintaining an image. _How things change,_ he thought glumly to himself, and he tried to push aside the morbid thoughts on why he was here right now.

For all he knew, it could be a year from now, a month, a week, a day until one of them ran out of time…

"Excuse me!"

Sheik turned around abruptly at the sound of a woman's voice addressing him, and he immediately turned his shoulders to hide the Minish sitting next to him from the newcomer. Vaati, eyes narrowed, took the opportunity to hide in the Sheikah's shadow while carefully peering at the approaching woman with suspicion.

The girl was about their age, and she smiled cheerfully at Sheik who was still guarded. She brushed away her brown curls with a shy, but determined flick of her fingers, and her cheeks took on a rosy blush. "This is going to be blunt," she said as she leaned over towards Sheik who, though sitting, appeared completely unrelaxed. The girl suddenly pointed a thumb over her shoulder towards two other girls who were stealing nervous glances their way from a distance. One of them was holding her hands to her lips as though to hold in a squeal, while the other one had her back turned their way and appeared mortifyingly embarrassed. "My friend fancies you but was too shy to come talk to you."

Sheik blinked, and though his shoulders relaxed somewhat, he didn't appear any less uncomfortable than he did earlier. In a rare moment, he was rendered completely incapable of coherent speech and all he could manage was a weak "Uh…"

Somewhere behind him, he heard a tiny squeak which he could only imagine was a snicker.

Although Sheik wasn't a stranger to be on the receiving end of admiring looks, from both men and women alike, he'd never been caught off guard like this. Usually when these things happened, it was during a social venue at the palace where he could expect something like this to happen. After all, there were few people who would so boldly approach the Princess of Hyrule, or a Sheikah guard.

He wasn't in uniform now. He was just another person on the street.

The warming thought must have softened his features briefly and made him a little more approachable, because the girl became emboldened and continued, "See, we were going to go to the new Fortune's Choice game room that opened up in town. I wanted to invite you to come with us?"

" _Sounds boring,"_ a voice whispered in his ear, tinged with a bit of jealousy. Sheik didn't need to turn around to know that Vaati had snuck up onto his shoulder during the conversation.

Sheik looked up at the girl and he returned a single, short response. "No."

The response was so blunt and matter-of-fact that a few awkward seconds passed where the girl had to gather her thoughts together. Eventually, she nodded with disappointment in her eyes, but she took the rejection graciously. "Ah… well, forget I asked, then," she said, and then hurried back to where her friends were waiting.

"You are _cold_ ," Vaati whistled once the girl was out of earshot, and he watched the girls console each other a little too happily. There was an amused grin on his face, while Sheik looked annoyed.

"I didn't want to spend my time with them," he said shortly, and he walked further down into the ally and away from the main street. He bit his tongue on the afterthought that came next, and instead focused on scaling up the cobblestone walls of one of the buildings to make their way up onto the roofs where no one could bother them.

 _I wanted to spend time with you._

He could just feel Vaati's questioning gaze on him the entire climb up, but Sheik wasn't one to fold easily under stares. He spoke when he needed to speak, and he didn't feel like speaking any more about this. His fingers dug into the cracks of the building as he pulled himself up onto the roofs, and he settled down beneath the shade of a chimney.

Vaati didn't press him further, and Sheik appreciated how the sorcerer was observant enough to know when not to pry. In return, Sheik, too, often didn't press Vaati for more, even though he was still curious about the sorcerer's mysterious past. They'd known each other for close to a year, and yet Sheik barely knew anything about who Vaati really was. Before 'Fuu,' Sheik thought he knew who the sorcerer was: an evil, arrogant monster who deserved nothing less than eternal imprisonment. He knew Vaati better now, though, and he had a growing suspicion that 'evil monster' was much too simplistic a label for someone like him. The 'demon' had been surprisingly human, with human reactions and faults, a person with sarcastic wit and, though he was a bitter cynic at times, someone who was fiercely loyal to friends. When it was revealed that Vaati had once been part of a mythical race that was known for being altruistic (almost to a fault), the understanding that he knew nearly nothing about Vaati loomed over Sheik's head.

"You like to watch people from above, too, don't you?"

Sheik looked up above his head to see that Vaati had already climbed down his shoulder and was up on top of the stone chimney he was sitting under. The Minish was looking down at the bustling town with a small, reminiscent smile on his face.

"The rooftops don't have quite the same scale as the Palace of Winds, though," Vaati said, "up there, you can almost see the whole world."

"No, but at the Palace of Winds, you're too high above the clouds to see the people below." Sheik nodded to the people making their way through the streets, on their way to or from whatever errand they'd had for the day. He smiled a little when he saw Vaati crinkle his nose skeptically. "The Palace is grand, but it's an impersonal, lonely place."

"I don't need to see anyone, I just need to know that they're there. Below me. Where they belong," Vaati scoffed.

The sorcerer didn't appear to be offended by Sheik's criticism of the palace, however. After the ordeal with Dethl, the two of them often provoked discussions and disagreements, almost like they were both trying to figure each other out. They had, after all, once been on two sides that were so fundamentally different from each other that they'd tried to destroy each other. Vaati feigned indifference now, but the small pause he granted suggested that he was, perhaps, curious for Sheik to prove him wrong.

"I enjoy being able to see the people though," Sheik replied, and he chuckled when he saw one of Vaati's long pointed ears flick, a Minish reaction when Sheik's mouse-like friend was incredulous. "I may not enjoy interacting with them, but seeing them and their faces, it keeps me grounded," he explained. His smile became rueful, and he leaned back against the chimney. "It reminds me that there are other stories aside from my own, other stories that are worth telling. Worth protecting."

"I don't much care for these, 'other stories' to be quite honest."

"Perhaps that's only because you were too high above the clouds to be able to care."

Somewhere above his head, Sheik heard a small, contemptuous snort. From the lack of an immediate, sarcastic comeback, he could tell that the sorcerer was turning his words over in his head.

"Hmph. Then tell me, what kind of story could you possibly find in these vacant people walking below us?" Vaati challenged.

Sheik smirked at his friend's failed efforts to hide his curiosity, and the Sheikah sat up from against the chimney to take a better look at the people below. He took a few seconds to watch the people drift to and fro down the streets, some of them walking with purpose while others moved lazily by without any particular sense of direction. Reading the stories of passerby did not come naturally to impatient people like Vaati, but Sheik had always enjoyed trying to figure out the lives of 'normal' people. He'd practiced it often back when he was at the castle, high above everyone in the Princess's chambers.

Just as Vaati's patience was wearing thin, Sheik pointed a finger at one of the people below, and the Minish craned his neck, though he was careful not to appear too eager.

"Many here are still dealing with the aftermath of Dethl's attack You see that woman over there, pulling the cart full of boxes?" Sheik asked. Below, there was a woman in her thirties or early forties, pulling a heavy cart behind her that was full of shipment crates. The wooden wheels clattered loudly on the stone path, and she struggled against the weight of the cart. Sheik could tell that Vaati was about to make some kind of snide remark about how pathetic she was from the way he was taking on his sour lemon look, so he continued sternly, "That used to be her husband's job. Either that, or someone she was close to. See how she wobbles a little, clearly not used to carrying such weight. Perhaps she had to take over when her husband died. She continues her task without complaining, and her expression is not one of someone defeated but someone determined. These people fight to survive, even when the worst has been thrown upon them." He cocked his head towards Vaati who wasn't, for once, letting his mouth run off with degrading comments towards the townspeople. "Even you must respect that kind of resilience."

There were a few more seconds of thoughtful silence, and an annoyed swish of a tail. "I find it aggravating," Vaati finally said. He huffed, throwing his hands into the air and turning his heel away from the view. Had he been his Hylian self, it could have looked intimidating, but now that he was a tiny, huffy and puffy Minish, it had the effect of looking more childish than anything. "Fine, so you can weave imaginary stories, that's wonderful," he growled.

Sheik's suppressed snicker didn't go unnoticed by the mage, and the wind mage snapped at him angrily. He settled down with a peeved grumble when Sheik chuckled a half-hearted apology for laughing at him, and the two went back to quietly watching the people walking below them who were unaware of the two youths above who shouldered legendary burdens.

After some time, Sheik looked at the lengthening shadow of the chimney. The sun had begun its journey down towards the horizon, and Sheik wanted to go back soon: he still felt uneasy taking a break this long, especially when they'd still made so little progress on their research regarding the Interlopers and the Triforce. As he stretched his arms and legs to get up, he thought he heard a squeaky mumble from somewhere above his head. When he looked up to where Vaati was sitting on the chimney, he saw the Minish sorcerer sheepishly looking at the gradually thinning crowd of the town.

"… I wonder what kind of story you see for me?" he said, his voice barely above an embarrassed whisper when Sheik looked at him with a curious tilt of his head.

The Sheikah blinked, surprised by the question, and he leaned back against the stone of the chimney with a small sigh. "I'm still trying to figure that out," he admitted, an apologetic smile tugging at his lips. He'd been surprised by the question, but it was a testament to just how little he still knew of his closest friend. "You carry two stories, and I don't know where they intersect."

Vaati nodded, seemingly disappointed but satisfied with the answer. Sheik was hopeful that the sorcerer would take the opportunity to tell him more about his past, but Vaati only took a deep breath and went back to looking at the view below them.

Vaati had two stories. The first was the one everyone knew about, and those who'd lived in it could attest to. It was the story of the Sorcerer of Winds, the great evil who was powerful enough to command legions of monsters to conquer the world, and paint it red with anyone who stood in his way. Sheik still remembered seeing Vaati in the middle of Hyrule field, surrounded by the black ash from fire as the sorcerer sneered at him. He remembered when he'd ran into Vaati at the Gerudo camp after 'Fuu' had gotten his memories back, and how he'd been afraid of the burning anger and hatred that had been reflected in the sorcerer's crimson eyes. The first story suggested an individual who was so consumed and blinded by anger that he'd long since ceased caring about what destruction he brought to the world. He was dangerous. He was without morals. He was evil.

The second story contained hidden depth that Sheik wasn't sure he'd completely pieced together yet. Even after Vaati had gone back to being Vaati and not the bright-eyed Fuu, he wasn't all that different from the refreshingly earnest Sheikah recruit. The sorcerer was extremely loyal to his friends, standing up for them in his own way, like making sure Zelda wasn't bothered by rude people by dealing with them first before they ever reached her. He'd been invaluable in helping with Hyrule's restoration, even though he'd passed it off as Impa's efforts rather than his own.

He'd shown compassion for Shadow Link by standing with him against Dethl, rather than rain revenge on him for the shade's betrayal. He'd forgiven Sheik for lying to him, and had forgiven him for completely changing who he was by taking away his memories.

And somehow, this supposedly evil son of a bitch had ended up being the one person who really seemed to _get_ Sheik.

And Sheik didn't really get him at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Unbeknownst to the two Sheikah on the roof, there _was_ someone who had taken a keen interest in them, and had been watching the two from a safe distance for quite some time. The individual was watching them through the window of an inn, a few buildings away down the street. He was no longer wearing his purple black cowl and form hugging uniform of an assassin, but Sheik would have recognized those piercing red eyes as those belonging to the accomplice of the masked man who he'd allowed to escape.

The young man's face was still not completely visible, since he'd bundled himself up in a sand-colored scarf and a liripipe hood that was common fashion among the people of Hyrule Castle Town. Whatever skin that was visible, however, was tinged with a shadowy darkness not unlike Shadow Link's, marking him as a resident from the Dark World.

The man brought a looking glass to his eye to get a closer look not at Sheik, but at the tiny little creature that was sitting above him on the edge of a chimney. A small smile formed on his lips. "Found you," he whispered to himself.

It had taken a while to find the creature again, especially since he'd assumed that it would be with Hyrule's Princess, but his keen eyes had finally found it accompanying one of her Sheikah guards.

He hadn't been interested in the curious creature at all, at first. However, when he first saw the mousey thing perched atop the Princess's shoulder, he'd caught a glimpse of a gold shimmer on the back of its right paw.

Few things glowed with such warm, holy light like the Triforce.

The young man put away his looking glass, and pushed open the windows when he saw the Minish hop onto its friend's shoulder and the Sheikah stood up to leave. The man quietly swung himself down from the window and followed the two of them carefully but quickly back towards the castle.

The existence of an unexpected Triforce holder threw a wrench in his plans, but the good news was that the creature was small, and small things were easy to kidnap and smuggle.

The blond Sheikah was, however, a problem. More of a problem than that frightening white-haired Sheikah woman back at the castle who'd chased him down with a great sword a week and a half ago. It was about a day since he'd finally found the Minish, and during his observations, he'd found that the creature and the Sheikah were inseparable.

He sighed. It was dangerous to stay near Hyrule Castle for so long, but he would need to continue to observe them for a while longer.

He needed to find an opportunity for the two of them to separate.

* * *

fleets: To be honest, this chapter was supposed to be the one where crap happened, but it turned out to be the chapter where nothing happened except chit chat because said chit chat ended up being quite long. Promise stuff will actually happen by next chapter!

 **AquilaMage:** The floof in the last two chapters is my present to you before we go back to the scheduled feels stomping :P  
Stuff is definitely going down in Lorule! I can't say much, but I can't wait to get to it :)  
And oh wow yeah that would be quite the plot twist. I don't think I'd be able to pull that off, though if I did that would be. Wow.

 **icfehr:** The imagery of Vaati with a needle sword is really adorable :3 (d'awww)  
I kind of addressed the Link thing here, but he wasn't really a main part of Demonbound and he wasn't super involved with any of the characters there, so I couldn't find a way to really include him. I can't really think of a reason why Impa or Zelda would ask for his help (since in this universe he was just a boy who was called a hero for being brave, and Impa and Zelda wouldn't drag civilians into their newest problem if they can help it). He was originally supposed to have a bigger role in Demonbound, but it felt too forced so I scrapped it.  
And ahh thank you! I feel like I'm usually confident about my story pacing, but this story has been a little tricky to wrangle so far so please do let me know if it starts to get boring! (i'm happy you like it so far though yay)

 **Ai Star:** Calm before the storm ;)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** icfehr had the same question as you, so you can read the reply above for the answer :) I also tried to address it a little in this chapter since it seemed like a good time to talk about it when things weren't so crazy with dying sorcerers and Sheik drama. I did consider giving a role for Link in this story and the previous one, but I don't think I can pull it off without making it too forced :0

 **plum:** So I saw your review through my email, but it's not showing up on fanfiction (so I'm really glad I caught it and can respond now! though I'm a little worried if there were any others in the past that I never responded to because it got buried in my email yikes)  
I do use google docs! It's great :D  
I probably just have to stop with the bad habit of doing all my editing and reader responses on this website... but ahhh thank you so much for your continued enthusiasm it's really heartwarming let me tell you :')


	9. Confessions

_fleets:_ Welp. I didn't think I'd actually submit this so soon. I managed to make myself upset when I tried writing this yesterday… I dunno, the feels hit me hard and unexpectedly.

Oh. Yeah. This chapter might sting a little.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Confessions**

Vaati had been right about taking a break, because by the time Sheik retired for the night, he'd never felt better in weeks. By the time he snuffed out all of the lanterns and buried himself under the bedsheets, he could feel the welcome weight of sleep fall over him like a blanket.

As mentally exhausted as he'd been this past week, Sheik hadn't been able to sleep at all until now. He drifted off, fighting it somewhat out of habit, until he gave in and allowed himself to rest. Nearby from the drawer next to the bed, he could hear the light sound of Vaati's breathing slowing as well.

Sheik wasn't sure how much time had passed when he was jolted awake later in the night.

His eyes shot open in the dark when he felt a battle of emotions rage in his chest. It was an intense, heated anger of the likes he'd never felt before, and it was so jarring that he wondered if it was some aftermath of a vivid dream. He lay still in bed for several minutes, trying to figure out where the feeling was coming from or if it would still persist. When the feeling didn't go away, he cautiously turned over on his side towards where Vaati slept.

He couldn't hear the Minish's breathing from the drawer.

Suspicious, Sheik pulled himself up out of bed and quietly looked over to where Vaati was normally curled up atop some folded shirts. In the dark, he wasn't completely sure of what he saw, but he became increasingly uneasy the more his eyes adjusted to the night. When he finally lit a flame in a nearby lantern, he already knew what he was going to see.

Vaati was gone.

The last remaining feeling of drowsiness vanished as Sheik whipped his head around, his eyes searching wildly around the room for signs of the tiny sorcerer. Eventually, he noticed that the window leading outside was cracked open a few inches, just wide enough for a Minish to slip through.

 _Where did you go?_

Brows furrowed in mounting concern, he clenched his right hand, which glowed faintly with the mark of the Triforce. There was no doubt that the anger he felt originated from Vaati, and he was worried about what it was that had caused such an outburst in the middle of the night. The sorcerer had seemed fine during the day; what had happened for him to suddenly become so enraged?

Throwing on a cloak to guard against the chill of the autumn wind, Sheik slipped out through the windows and tried to follow wherever it was that Vaati could have gone. He jumped down lightly on the roof tiles below, and quickly but methodically searched one roof after the other. It was exceptionally dark tonight with thick clouds blocking the moon, and Sheik had to stop once or twice when he'd mistaken a shadow for the silhouette of Vaati.

In the end, Sheik found the sorcerer perched atop one of the roofs, near where the sorcerer had run off to before when they'd first learned about his Minish origins. When the Sheikah approached him, Vaati appeared surprised at first, but then looked as though he'd wanted to speak with him. The Minish carried with him another object that was over twice as tall as he was, and Sheik narrowed his eyes questioningly when he realized it was the mirror shard they used to communicate with Shadow Link and Ravio.

Vaati smiled, but the undertone of anger still persisted.

Sheik's pulse quickened when he realized that the anger was directed towards _him_.

Before the Sheikah could say anything, Vaati held up a free hand, silencing him. "I didn't expect you here," he said with a smile that was far from genuine. "It's well enough, I suppose, since I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"What's going on?" Sheik asked cautiously.

Vaati ignored the question with a sweeping hand. "I was thinking," Vaati began slowly, and Sheik pulled the cloak around him closer when the air became chilled, "I was wondering if you would tell me first, or if I would figure things out on my own."

Sheik held his breath, and he knew then that Vaati had somehow found out the truth about what he'd done. _How did you find out?_ he thought. He feigned ignorance, even though he knew that it was useless to do so. "Tell you what?"

Vaati's pent up rage blazed across his face in a glimpse of a frightening snarl, before he answered coolly, "I spoke with Ravio." His chilling grin widened when he saw Sheik turn his head away at the name, "Oh don't worry, he didn't tell me anything. Still, no one knows the Shadow Links as well as I do. I _was_ their master once, you know." He huffed, and he took a few steps closer. Pacing. Stalking. "All I had to do was ask a few questions, and his reaction told me everything I needed to know."

At this moment, Sheik was glad that Vaati was a Minish, because even as a small mouse-like creature, there was something terrifying about his anger. It reminded him back when he and Vaati were still enemies, and he took an unconscious step back from the tiny Minish who was seething with contained rage. He could feel it rise like the heat of burning coal in his chest.

"Ask me how I found out, Sheik. Go ahead," Vaati hissed.

The anger was a fire. But beneath the embers there was a cold, cold fear. He wanted to reach out to reassure, but it was too hot to touch.

"Hmph, well how about I tell you anyway," Vaati continued. He eyed Sheik warily when the Sheikah sighed and sat down in defeat. His voice shook a little, but it wasn't clear if it was out of anger or that deep, buried anguish he hid through bravado. "I started to notice things. For example, we all noticed how you were a lot more _impulsive_ after the night when the Interlopers first attacked. In particular, you angered easily. Now, I'm no stranger to anger. In fact, I'm kind of an expert on it."

The anger cooled, briefly. Something else overcame it. Guilt. Sheik's guilt. No, not only that. _Their_ guilt.

"Anyway, it was almost like we mirrored each other's emotions that night. Even now," at this, Vaati's hand unconsciously lifted towards his own chest, "I feel like not all of my feelings are just my own."

"It's a side effect of sharing the Triforce," Sheik murmured. "You're right, our emotions, intense ones, are shared."

The sound of Sheik's voice reignited Vaati's anger once more. "That alone wouldn't have been strange, but there were other things that weren't adding up," Vaati snapped suddenly, not about to have Sheik derail the conversation. "For example, for what reason would you be interested in the Triforce or necromancy? That doesn't really have anything to do with the Interlopers, does it?" When Sheik finally looked up at him in surprise, Vaati sneered, "Oh, don't think I didn't notice that at the library. I saw how you spent a few more seconds on pages mentioning necromantic black magic or the Triforce."

Anger. Fear. Guilt.

Hurt.

It was impossible to tell whose feeling was whose in the turmoil of emotions.

"And then I spoke with Ravio. All I had to do was ask a few questions, and his expression was the only answer I needed to figure everything out."

Sheik lowered his gaze. He couldn't look at the other's eyes. "Vaati-"

"I was _dead_ , wasn't I?" Vaati stormed over to the Sheikah, and threw the mirror he'd been holding at him.

Sheik flinched, but not because of the mirror that had been hurled in his direction, but because he could hide the truth no longer. He caught the mirror between his fingers, and he felt its cold weight against his skin.

"Tell me!" Vaati roared.

Sheik clenched his fingers. The word 'dead' was caught in his throat, gripping it, making it difficult to breathe. He opened his mouth to respond, but then he shut it, and instead rested his head against a hand to nurse a growing headache. Eventually, he said quietly, "… Yes."

Vaati's harsh expression softened a little at the admission, and there was a rise and fall of his shoulders as he exhaled slowly. His eyes angled down, and he bit his lip as he put his thoughts together. He muttered something under his breath, and then he addressed Sheik once more. "There was a price," he said, his voice still carrying that contained tremor, "There's _always_ a price, so what was it?"

When Sheik continued to hang his head, avoiding his gaze, Vaati knew that it was bad. Sheik didn't usually show signs of being troubled, not unless it was something serious. Vaati had a nagging feeling that he knew what it was, but he waited to hear it from Sheik.

"The Triforce. I shared its power with you," Sheik said, another sigh escaping his lips. Next to him, Vaati settled down on his hind legs and had his arms crossed over his chest. "The Triforce had a different name, once. Some called it the Light Force, passed down through generations of Hyrule's royals. You may have heard of it, and how every living thing carries a bit of it, with some more than others. It's the essence of creation."

Vaati snorted. "Of course I know about it," he said. He was already well versed in the details of the Light Force, considering how his own history was closely tied to it. It was said that all living things carried with them a piece of power from the Goddesses, though some special individuals like the Princess of Hyrule possessed a considerable piece, also known as the Triforce (or Light Force). The lore suggested that a skilled sage could recreate a similar power to the Triforce by piecing together smaller essences of life, and his old master Ezlo had managed just that when he'd created the Wishing Cap.

Life was Creation. Creation, a Wish. A wish to grant anything into existence.

In other words…

"I… shared my life with you so that you could live," Sheik explained.

Vaati took a deep breath. He'd already guessed as much, and this was all just confirmation of what he already suspected. Sharing the Triforce wasn't simply like sharing some separate object between two people. It wasn't just 'power,' it represented Soul. Vaati's face was contorted into a grimace. They were _soulbound._ His apprehension grew the more he began to understand just what was going on.

"What is the _price_ , Sheik?" he repeated impatiently.

"It's not permanent."

There was an uncomfortable pause. Vaati arched a single brow, a wordless "and continue?" directed towards Sheik.

Sheik continued, struggling to voice the words he'd been trying to avoid since this mess had started. He ran a hand down his face, and then waved his fingers towards the empty air as though it would help make the words easier to say. "The Triforce was never meant to be shared between two people. One day it's going to become whole again. In one or the other of us."

"And what's going to happen to the one left without its power?" Vaati asked abruptly. " _What's going to happen to the one left without a soul?"_

Sheik's ear twitched uncomfortably, and he turned away.

The Minish shook his head, uncrossing his arms. He began to slowly pace back and forth along the roof tiles, while Sheik peered out at the darkened town in the distance. "You know, I've had some experience in… separating… the Holy Power from the Princess of Hyrule, back in the old days," Vaati said, his twitching nose betraying his calm act. "If I'd succeeded in extracting it, I would have killed her. Her soul had been attached to it. You could say that the Light Force literally _was_ her soul." He stopped pacing. His nose twitched again, and then he turned on his heel to face Sheik once more. The tremor in Vaati's voice was more evident now, and his finger shook when he pointed it at the Sheikah. "When you say, 'shared your life with me,' you mean that in the literal sense, correct? A soul that's _gone_ doesn't simply come back, and that's why necromancy almost always requires the price of a life, for a life. A soul for a soul. You…" his voice cracked, "you used yours-"

"I just wanted to buy some time for us to figure out how to fix this."

Vaati exploded in anger.

" _Fix this?_! You brought me back so I can die again!"

"You're not going to die."

"Then _you brought me back so I can watch YOU die, is that it?_!"

"No one is going to die!" Sheik snapped, his voice rising to match Vaati's. He was silenced immediately when he saw Vaati flash a crooked, cynical smirk.

"One look at your face tells me that you don't believe that," Vaati sniffed dismissively, and his cold grin widened even more when he saw Sheik pull back with shock and hurt. The absence of a response was all he needed to know that he was right. "Tell me, isn't that why you stepped down from the throne all of a sudden? So you could let Daphna practice her role once you're gone,"

"No." There wasn't any weight behind the denial.

"- so you could fulfill your last wish to live beyond the castle?"

Shiek whipped around, his face twisted into a snarl behind his mask as he slammed a hand down in front of the Minish. "You don't know anything," he shot in a way that would have made monsters cower, but Vaati remained unfazed.

At least that had been true. Vaati really didn't know anything.

This wasn't just about living beyond the castle.

 _I wanted to spend it with you._

They glared at each other, red burning into red, until Sheik exhaled and rubbed the hand he'd slammed onto the tiles. It stung. "I didn't have a choice," he murmured.

"You could have let me die."

The words were brutal in their matter-of-factness.

With a scowl, Vaati hopped up onto Sheik's leg to get closer to his eyelevel. He climbed up his bent knee, and waved a sweeping hand to get Sheik to look at him again. There was anger in the Sheikah's eyes, now, some of it shared with Vaati's but some of it his own. "I _know_ magic like this," Vaati hissed, "The Triforce is unstable now, you feel it too, don't you? I'd give it a year if we're lucky before it decides to click back together and leave one of us in the dust."

"A year to figure out how to keep us both alive," Sheik said coolly.

"Figure out? There is _nothing_ to figure out. There are no loopholes to this kind of magic."

"Maybe we'll be the first to find one, then."

Exasperated by Sheik's stubbornness, Vaati threw his hands up in the air. His paws clenched and unclenched, and he looked like he wanted to hit something. "Plenty of people have tried to raise the dead before without consequences. _Plenty_. For hundreds of thousands of years by now, and to this day no one has figured out how. Do you seriously think you know more about magic than _I_ do?" He was seething. Sheik… he respected Sheik but right now the blond was being incredibly naïve with blind, desperate hope. How dare Sheik do this to him. The only thing Sheik had succeeded in doing was to postpone the inevitable for a brief time, and for what? To put his life at risk, too? Foolish. Nothing angered Vaati like stupidity of this level.

What angered him more, however, was that he knew Sheik wasn't going to listen.

Because to listen was to admit that there was nothing they could do.

"I was once the greatest, most powerful sorcerer in the world! When I say there are no loopholes, _there are no loopholes!_ " Vaati shouted. He gave a frustrated scream when he heard the sound of his own voice, a shrill shriek that reminded him of what he'd been reduced to. In his tiny form he kicked the knee he was standing on, and he grabbed his hat and hurled it at Sheik's face. After a while, he plopped down, tired and defeated. He murmured with a shake of his head, "You stupid fool…"

Sheik's chest rose and fell as he sighed. He picked up the tiny hat where it fell on his shoulder, and rounded it out before he placed it back on the Minish's head. Vaati scowled, but he made no fuss and only glowered in silence.

"I'm not apologizing for saving your life," Sheik said softly. "I'm not going to let you die."

Vaati didn't respond, and he sullenly stared out at the darkened town. The hat on his head was crooked, but he didn't seem to care. After a while, he finally said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, "I don't understand."

Sheik lifted his head slightly, indicating he'd heard. His eyes crinkled in concern when he noticed that Vaati's rage had since been overcome with doleful undertones. There wasn't any sarcasm in his words; the sorcerer appeared truly confused.

"I was never supposed to be alive anyway," Vaati continued, "When I last fought you in Hyrule field, I allowed victory to slip through my fingers. You won. Everything should have ended there. We both know we intended to end the other, and yet by some cruel joke you allowed me to live."

The sorcerer was rambling now, perhaps from overwhelming emotion. Had he been more stable, he would never have openly admitted to losing a fight, and in the past year or so that Sheik had known him, he'd avoided any mention of the 'Final' battle. Right now, however, Sheik could tell from their shared connection that he was struggling against anger, confusion, despair, and fear all at once, each emotion pushing and tugging the other in a chaotic fight. Anger, Vaati was used to. The other three, not so much.

"Things changed after that, Vaati, don't discredit what happened after," Sheik consoled him.

The anger returned. It was an emotion Vaati was used to. It was something he could fall back on when things were slipping out of his control.

"My time was up then." There was accusation in his tone. Frustration. "You could have let me die now."

"No," Sheik said firmly, but gently.

Vaati's voice began to rise, but it wasn't out of his usual rage. It was still anger, but a confused, desperate one, like a wounded animal lashing out. "You had no business bringing me back." He bared his teeth, and he turned on his heel to glare at the only person he could direct his anger to. He snatched his feathery tail, gripping it tightly in his fist and shook it at the Sheikah's face. " _Look_ at me! I'm not even human any more, I'm some degenerate _rat!"_ he shouted. He was frantic now, completely losing any of his usual, proud poise. The stress he'd kept pent up over the past week and a half finally burst, and his words spilled out like a roaring river rushing over a levee. "I've turned into some filthy, insignificant, pathetic thing. I'm the lowest form of life out there, and _I would rather be dead than to be like this!"_

Sheik's voice caught in his throat, and whatever it was he'd been about to say was lost. Vaati's words rang in his head. It crushed at his chest. His skin became ashen. They stared at each other, both in shock at the outburst. Sheik could feel his own pulse thudding against his head, a growing headache.

 _Would rather be dead._

 _I would rather be dead._

Vaati was a wreck right now, and he was probably saying things he didn't mean, but…

Was it true?

Was there any truth in those words? Because if there were…

"I can't just let you die," Sheik said hoarsely.

It wasn't a mistake. If he could save him, then it wasn't a mistake.

 _I would rather be dead than to be like this._

"And _why not?_ " Vaati demanded.

 _Because_

"Without you I…" Sheik trailed off.

Ah.

That was it, wasn't it?

Sheik closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was being selfish again, wasn't he? He hadn't brought Vaati back for the sorcerer's sake. It had been for _himself_.

But he wasn't going to apologize for saving Vaati's life. If Vaati hated him for it, then so be it.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Vaati staring at him, frozen in place. Sheik gave a half-hearted shrug, and returned a small smile. Vaati surely resented him, now, for everything he'd done. The sorcerer had been surprisingly patient all this time, starting from when they'd completely wiped his memories, but this had to be it. Sheik wouldn't blame him if they never spoke again.

Vaati opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it closed again. His beady red eyes were wide.

The anger vanished. Only numbness remained.

There was movement. Vaati was shaking his head. Slowly, at first, and then faster as though to shake away whatever thoughts he was having. Then, the sorcerer's expression hardened once more, his brows furrowed into a pained glower, and he jumped off of Sheik's knee to vanish into the night.

Sheik kept his gaze to where he'd last seen the Minish before he disappeared down the edge of the roof. His fingers were clenched. His knuckles, white. The autumn night air was cold and unforgiving, but Sheik didn't care, and he continued to sit on the roof. Alone.

He reached up to his neck, feeling for the silver chain that was tucked under the cloak that had been thrown over his shoulders. The red stone was cold to the touch.

Numb.

He was too numb to feel anything.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati wasn't sure where he was running to, but he ran anyway. He couldn't feel anything. He didn't _want_ to feel anything. He welcomed the numbness; it felt more like a constant buzz in his ears that prevented him from feeling anything else.

All he knew was that he couldn't handle it anymore. He couldn't deal with it. "It," being everything. He wasn't entirely sure what, but just… everything. He was sick and tired of everything in his life right now.

It was all slipping out of his control. He didn't know what to do. He was used to being in control of his life, his emotions, his thoughts.

He wasn't used to _this_.

Vaati skidded to a stop, his paws sliding along the stone of the castle's walkway. He didn't remember when or how he'd gotten there, since he'd blindly ran off in the dark, consumed by his thoughts.

He leaned against the wall, catching his breath as he looked up at the sky. He couldn't see any stars tonight, as they were hidden behind the thick clouds. As his breathing calmed and his agitation lessened, he forced himself to think clearly.

Why was he running?

 _Afraid._

Vaati blinked. Afraid. He'd been afraid? He looked down at his paws, and were surprised to see that they were still shaking a little. No, he'd been angry.

And then fear.

Numbness to shut out fear.

Afraid of what?

 _You brought me back so I can watch you die._

 _There are no loopholes._

 _I don't understand._

 _You stupid fool._

 _I can't just let you die._

 _Without you I…_

The buzz rang loudly in his head. He bit down on his lip until they bled, and he turned around and hit the wall behind him with his fists. He glared at the Triforce that shone with a soft glow on the back of his hand, and he began to claw at it despite knowing that it was useless to do so. He ripped at his skin, drawing blood until there were jagged red lines over the mark of the Triforce.

This wasn't how he'd ever wanted this power.

" _Damn it!"_ he shouted.

 _WHAM!_

Without warning, Vaati felt himself picked up and thrown upside down, tumbling every which way so that he lost all sense of direction. Then, just as suddenly, his breath was knocked out of him as his stomach slammed against cold, hard glass. Vaati sputtered more curses as he was tossed about some more, and then the world became still again. He slowly looked up, cradling his head to steady the ringing in his ears from hitting it several times while being thrown about.

 _Sheik?_ he thought in a daze when he came face to face with familiar, intense red eyes. He stumbled forward and then he hit his nose against clear glass.

In growing horror, he realized that he was trapped inside a glass jar, and the final squeal of the lid shutting closed above him cemented the fact that he was not going to be escaping any time soon.

His lips pulled back into a fierce snarl, and he glared at the red eyes he'd mistaken for Sheik's earlier.

This… this was not Sheik. Still, he recognized his captor, as he'd seen him before.

It was the accomplice to the masked man.

" _You_ ," Vaati hissed, pressing his paws against the glass that separated him from the Interloper.

Behind the black cowl, the sharp red eyes watched him for a few seconds wonderingly, peering at him in the jar. Up close, Vaati noted that what little he could see of the young man's face was surprisingly similar to Sheik's. Almost disconcertingly so.

The accomplice looked away from the jar abruptly, apparently listening to something going on over his shoulder. The man crouched, then, and pressed his back against the wall to hide from whoever it was that was undoubtedly after him.

They were still for a few minutes, and Vaati pressed his face against the glass to try and see what was happening outside. Nothing occurred for a while, and there was no movement in the dark of the night save for the clouds crawling overhead.

Then, everything exploded in an instant. With impressive speed, the accomplice rushed out of their hiding spot, and dashed across the castle walkway. Vaati curled himself into a ball to protect his head from getting smashed against the jar during the accomplice's escape, and he started to yell angry curses at the accomplice until he nearly bit his tongue, prompting him to stop.

Just as he was beginning to get used to being bounced around in the jar, he felt a sudden drop in his stomach.

They were falling. The accomplice had leapt off of the castle wall, almost forty feet above the ground.

As they fell, Vaati could see the sky from where he lay in the glass jar in his captor's hand. The edge of the wall they'd jumped from became farther and farther away.

And then, just before his captor swung away from the ground using a grappling hook that had been expertly hooked to a castle balcony, Vaati caught sight of a person looking down at them from the ledge above.

Blond bangs framed sun touched skin beneath a white cloak.

For a brief moment, their eyes met, red on red.

 _Sheik_.

Those were his last thoughts as the glass wall of his prison came rushing to meet him. His feet hit the glass first, and he yowled when he felt his ankle twist with a loud "pop." Losing balance, he fell backwards and his head slammed hard against the cold surface.

Vaati blacked out.

* * *

 _fleets_ : You know what, I probably shouldn't be updating this at 2AM but it's late, and I make bad decisions when it's late.

Happy times are over. Frankly, I'm glad, because I tried "happier" in the last two chapters and they were kind of boring to me.

Also I'm kind of bullshitting my way through the whole Triforce Lightforce thing. It might go against some things in canon, I don't know, but this is an AU so I get to make up some rules as I go along, right? Righto.

 **icfehr:** Ahhh sorry if I'm confusing you, but Link doesn't have the Triforce of Courage in this universe. Neither does the Triforce of Power exist. I'll definitely address this later, since it's an important part of the story which you've accidentally stumbled onto haha.

The idea of Link working with the blacksmith came from his iterations in ALBW and MC (where he lived and worked with the blacksmith) :)  
Recon ninja strikes D: (thanks so much for your comments icfehr! I'll try!)

 **plum:** Ravio and Shadow are definitely planned for this story, expect their appearance… in some chapters in the maybe near future maybe…haha  
And ahhh thank you! They really do need to confess (I guess they kind of did this chapter? er. that probably wasn't the best way).

 **Ai Star:** Bad things. Very bad things. They are here and here to stay.

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Sooner, more than later. As in, this chapter. Whoops.  
Hahaha feel free to keep guessing! I used to say I mind when people guessed stuff, but now I welcome it since I feel like it's the execution of the plot that matters :) (also I'd be very surprised if you could guess what I have planned out)


	10. Minish

fleets: Ahhh thank you so much for your reviews last chapter! The reactions were everything I could have hoped for :D  
I hope you like this chapter, too, I was pretty excited about writing this one because, well, you'll see. :3

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Minish**

Impa was awoken to the sound of a light knock on her door. It was still early in the morning, with dawn just breaking over the horizon. Suspicious that someone would come knocking at such an early hour, her eyes shot open, alert, and she quickly and quietly rolled out of her bed, reaching for a blade near her nightstand as she did so.

Her feet barely made a sound as she made her way to the door on the balls of her feet, and she stood by the doorway, listening. Gripping her blade tightly, she cautiously opened the door.

"Sheik!"

Impa dropped her knife in time to catch her charge whose knees, weak with exhaustion, had buckled under his weight. She shushed his mumbled apologies, and helped him into her room, shutting the door behind them to guard against curious ears. She sat him down on the edge of her bed and studied his gaunt expression with concern.

He looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

"I couldn't stop them. I failed," he said quietly.

Impa was worried by his appearance; he was out of breath, his eyes were sunken and his lips dry, and his hair was matted to his face which was scratched with dirt and blood, possibly from running through brambled grass in the fields outside the castle. She knew Sheik well enough, however, to know that telling him to lie down was pointless, despite her instinct to do so as his guardian. He hadn't come to her for help in patching him up: he'd come to her for help and advice.

She passed him a glass of water. "Tell me what's happened."

His fingers gripped the edge of the bed, his nails digging deep into the cloth. He looked away, and his voice came out strained. "They took him. Impa, I couldn't stop them."

Impa brought over a chair and sat across from him. Her frown deepened when she understood what he was talking about: she didn't need to ask who he was talking about to know that Vaati had been taken by the masked man and his associates. "Where did you last see him?" she asked, while pushing the glass of water towards him a little more forcefully.

Hands trembling slightly from fatigue, Sheik finally took the offered glass. He seemed surprised for a moment by his own weakened state when he took a sip - in his distress, he hadn't realized just how much of a mess he was. "I chased them all night," he said, steadying his drowsy head in his free hand. "The kidnapper… he was wearing the same clothes as the Interlopers we saw over a week ago. I followed him all the way out to near the edge of Faron province. At least," he paused, alarm passing over his eyes, "I believe it was Faron province." He looked up, then, almost as though to ask her for help to make sense of what he remembered.

Impa shook her head. She'd never seen Sheik so distraught that he'd acted so recklessly. Maybe it had to do with the side effect of sharing the Triforce with impulsive Vaati, but Impa had a feeling that this would have happened regardless, Triforce sharing or no. It hadn't escaped her attention how fiercely protective her charge had become of the wind mage in the last year.

She could see it on Sheik's face, at least the part of him that was fighting to remain awake, that he expected her to reprimand him for his actions. That he expected for her to tell him that he should have come for her immediately, rather than run after the kidnapper on his own without knowing how many more he'd been up against. He'd been lucky that he'd been able to come back to Hyrule at all, considering how it could have very well been a trap to lure him outside the castle alone.

As Hyrule's high general, Impa probably should have given him a verbal warning at minimum. As the advisor to the princess, and as the sole person to keep her in check should she make poor decisions, she should have said something. As a Sheikah mentor, she should have punished him for his foolishness.

She did none of these things, because she was also the closest thing to a parent Sheik had, and a parent was supposed to support their children when they were punishing themselves enough already. One look at his face and she knew he'd gone through enough; she didn't need to add to his anguish.

"I'll send soldiers first thing today to scout the area where you last saw Vaati and his kidnapper," she reassured him. "For now you need to rest."

And there it was, that familiar, stubborn look on his face that refused rest even when it was something that he needed the most. Impa's lips flattened, but she was used to this. Had expected it, even. After all, 'rest' wasn't a word that Sheik and Zelda both were used to. They always tried to shoulder too much burden on their own. In a tone that suggested that Impa had dealt with this sort of thing numerous times in the past, she placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him sternly. "I'll take care of things while you recover. Clear your head with sleep."

Sheik nodded slowly, grudgingly, but at the same time gratefully, listening to her. However, the way he hesitated suggested that the kidnapping wasn't the only thing that was eating at his mind. He looked down with a slight squint in his eye, and he appeared conflicted about whether or not to say more regarding what else was troubling him. His squint became heavy lidded, and before he could tell her more, he fell sideways onto the bed, passing out from exhaustion. Impa caught the glass of water that fell from his hands before they broke on the floor.

Shaking her head, Impa gently repositioned him on the bed and pulled the covers over him. He'd been completely at his limits; he hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that he'd been chasing the kidnapper all night. "You promised you'll take care of yourself," she whispered, a sad smile on her face.

She stood up to leave to let Sheik rest. As she did so, she noticed something glowing on the nightstand next to the bed. She tilted her head, puzzled as to what it could be, and then realized that it was coming from the small bag that Sheik had placed on the nightstand earlier. She walked over to the bag, and pulled out the Dark Mirror shard that was emanating a dull, purple glow.

As soon as she touched it, the glassy surface of the shard revealed a young man in a purple bunny hood. "Ravio?" she asked, and she glanced towards Sheik to make sure she hadn't woken him. She quickly but quietly made her way back towards the door so she wouldn't bother him from his much needed rest.

"Impa?" Ravio looked just as surprised to see her. Under his hood, his eyes darted towards Sheik passed out on the bed, just before Impa shut the door to the room behind her. A panicked look appeared on his face.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Impa asked, while Ravio began to hold back stammers.

"I-I wanted to speak with Master Vaati. I couldn't sleep knowing that… knowing that…" He looked up from the fingers he'd been wringing, suddenly starting to ramble nervously. "Impa, that was Sheik just there, wasn't it? Vaati did something to him, didn't he? Oh Din, oh Din oh Din, he was so angry. He was so, so angry-"

"Ravio-"

"- This is all my fault. Master Vaati found out about what Sheik did because of me and-"

"Ravio-"

"Look, I didn't want to tell him! But I just _can't_ keep secrets from him, ya know? He always has a way of finding things out from me. He _knows_ when I'm lying. And he… and he started asking me all of these questions and I tried not to tell him anything but he sees right through me and-"

" _Ravio!"_

The shade flinched, and in his surprise he tripped over something on the ground and fell over backwards. On the other side, Impa could hear a worried chirp from what could only be his feathery companion Sheerow. The Sheikah guardian bit back a sigh, thinking about how many troubled youngsters she'd unwittingly become the counselor for in the past year. "Deep breaths," she said.

A few seconds later, the long bouncy bunny ears popped back into view, along with the disheveled face of Ravio. He blinked a few times, and then decided to take Impa's advice regarding deep breaths.

"Whatever happened here is not your fault," Impa reassured him, once he was no longer frazzled. Her expression darkened, however, as she pieced together just what it was that Sheik had hesitated in telling her before he'd passed out.

Vaati had found out about what Sheik had done, and the resulting confrontation had undoubtedly been ugly. She understood why Sheik had been so distraught that he'd pushed himself to the point of collapse: he probably blamed himself for Vaati's kidnapping. _What a mess._

"It _is_ my fault that Master Vaati is angry. I promised Sheik I wouldn't tell him anything. I tried to keep my word but…" Ravio hung his head, mumbling to himself.

Impa shook her head heavily. And here was another one who was blaming himself for something he had no control over. "You are not to blame for whatever happened here," she repeated slowly, making sure each word reached him.

For a moment, Ravio shrugged his shoulders, not believing her. However, the words began to sink in, and he lifted his chin when he noticed that Impa was not just saying that to make him feel better. The way she said it, with a weight like iron chains dragging each word, indicated that something else had happened that he wasn't aware of. Something bad. Ravio brought his face closer to the mirror, troubled. "What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly, afraid he wouldn't like the answer.

"Vaati has been kidnapped by the ones who attacked the castle about a week ago."

" _What?_!" The view in the mirror tumbled when Ravio dropped his mirror in surprise. There was some clamoring and a hurried exclamation, accompanied by some flapping wings that indicated that Sheerow had managed to catch the mirror counterpart in the Dark World before it shattered on the floor. A few seconds later, Ravio reappeared on Impa's glass. "And Sheik, is he…?" he trailed off, almost afraid to know the answer.

"He appears unhurt, just wanting in rest," Impa reassured him, much to his relief. She looked back at the closed door behind her, and added with a frown, "He was out all night."

The bunny hooded boy, however, seemed more troubled than before upon hearing the news that his old master had been kidnapped. He walked in and out of view of the Dark Mirror as he paced back and forth while wringing his hands together in agitation. Impa couldn't catch what he was muttering into his hands, except for one line that caught her attention: "First Princess Hilda, and now Master Vaati."

"What did you say?" Impa asked sharply, causing Ravio to look up.

He sighed, waving his hands helplessly, and somewhere in the background there was a concerned chirp from Sheerow. "Well I…" he scratched his head distractedly, "that was another reason why I needed to reach Master Vaati, or Sheik, or… well, anyone on your side, really. It's not safe talking about this to people here."

It was then that Impa noticed the kind of place Ravio was in. She'd only talked to him and Shadow a few times, but in those times she noticed that they were often inside a dwelling scattered with weapons, maps, and bags of rupees. Now, she noticed that he was in a dark cave, hardly somewhere that one would call comfortable, and from the thin blankets rolled out on the ground behind Ravio, she could tell that this was a temporary place to stay. It was almost like he'd been forced to move out of his house in a hurry. "Are you in danger?" she asked sternly.

"No!" Ravio replied hurriedly, not wanting to cause worry. After a few seconds, however, his brows furrowed in confusion "I mean, maybe? I don't know," he corrected himself, and Impa's concerned frown dipped lower. He shook his head, biting his lip. "Lorule's in complete chaos right now 'cause the princess just… vanished."

"Vanished," Impa repeated. _Is this related to the attempted attack on Princess Zelda?_ she wondered to herself. Her eyes narrowed at the troubling thought. _This plot may be bigger than what we first imagined._ She noticed Ravio standing with his fingers clenched tightly, with that same, tortured look that Sheik had had when he'd come to her, bearing the news that Vaati had been captured.

"I should have been there to save her, but Shadow was away on a mission and I was too much of a coward to leave my house…" he murmured. "There's rumors about treason, rumors that her closest guards had turned against her. No one trusts anyone right now, and everyone's afraid. People who speak too loudly about the chaos, and people who claim to know the truth of what happened all vanish within a few days. And when they do disappear, you don't speak of it to anyone, or you might be the next to-"

"Ravio, _what in Din are you doing?_!"

Somewhere, Impa heard a voice that was uncannily like Ravio's, except it was slightly less nervous than the bunny hooded boy's. She saw Ravio being pushed aside out of, while Shadow Link's voice continued to berate his startled friend in the background.

" _You don't know who's listening to us!_ Shut that off, we have to leave, now!"

"Shadow, you're back? I didn't think you'd be back so soon, what's going o-"

" _Turn it off!"_

"But-"

The connection broke, and Impa was left with the dark murky gleam of the Dark Mirror. The dull glow faded, and the surrounding castle stone disappeared once again in the dark of the morning and unlit torches. She could no longer see Ravio or Shadow, and instead could only see the glass that seemed to absorb light into itself like a bottomless pit. She stared at it for a few minutes in shock, going over what the two boys had been saying just before Shadow Link had broken the connection.

Whatever trouble those two had found themselves in, sounded just as messy as the trouble brewing over on the Light side of the world. She sat down on the floor in the middle of the hall, and leaned back against the wall while still clutching the mirror between her fingers.

Chaos in the Dark World. Trouble in the Light World. She had a feeling that the same individuals who'd tried to attack Zelda were responsible for whatever it was that was going on in the Dark World. The masked man had been powerful, perhaps more so than Vaati. A man that powerful would have ambitions to match, and she couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was going on in the two worlds was of a scale the likes that had never been seen before. What she couldn't figure out yet, however, was just what he was after.

Impa put the Mirror away in one of her bags hanging from her hips, to return to Sheik later. A part of her was reluctant to tell him what Ravio had told her, as he had enough weighing on his mind already, but she knew that he would want to know. Especially if he planned to go after Vaati's kidnapper, then he would need to know any news that might be related to the masked man and his accomplice.

A chilling thought came to her as she thought about the man's possible identity; that he may be one of the Interlopers who'd been banished to the Dark World many centuries ago. She, too, didn't know too much about the Interlopers, except that they had betrayed the Sheikah and the Royal family of old in their arrogance. Her own tribe spoke of them with shame and anger, but only rarely since they had also been afraid of their story.

Although the Sheikah were record keepers of Hyrule's history, the story of the Interlopers was almost deliberately kept vague, and as such most of it had been lost to time. The only detail that Impa recalled from what had been passed down to her was that the Interlopers, in their hubris, had murdered the then king and queen. The traitorous tribe then challenged the heavens, not satisfied with overthrowing the king. They foolishly reached for godhood with their extensive knowledge of sorcery, before they were imprisoned in the Dark World.

Aside from that, no details regarding the Interlopers survived time. No one knew their names, their values, or their motives. Part of the reason their story was vague had been out of shame, since the story of the Interlopers was painted with the very blood that the Sheikah had sworn to protect; it was a reminder of their failures past. The main reason for their clouded history, however, was fear: fear that their story would inspire others to once again follow in their footsteps and commit the same acts of treachery.

This fear suggested that the Interlopers may have been justified about some things, which was another disconcerting thought in itself.

While Impa didn't know much about them, she _did_ know one thing: the Interlopers had once been of the Light World. They would be compelled to return if the opportunity presented itself.

And when they did, knowing their bloodied history, she knew that they would not return peacefully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati awoke to a dull ache of his head where he'd hit it during his kidnapper's escape from Hyrule Castle. He groaned and sat himself up slowly while gingerly rubbing the back of his head. It had been a pretty bad hit, and he still felt somewhat nauseous from the concussion. As he sat up, he felt a felt blanket fall away from his body.

He stared at the soft brown cloth laid gently over him in confusion. _What in Subrosia…?_ He turned, shaking his grogginess away, and as he did so his hand pressed against a soft cushion; a tiny hand-sewn pillow that was perfect for his size. He blinked, looking at the pillow in surprise for a few seconds, and then tried to stand himself up to get a better look at his surroundings. Vaati winced when his left ankle crumpled under his weight. Something cold dropped to the floor, and he noticed that someone had placed a tiny bag of shaved ice on his injured foot to prevent its swelling.

Whoever his kidnapper was, they'd apparently wanted to keep him comfortable.

Vaati exhaled slowly, pushing down his mounting annoyance. He was irritated about being captured, but he was even more irritated that his kidnapper had apparently gone out of their way to be accommodating. It made no sense to him, and he disliked it when things didn't make sense.

He limped around his enclosure, as he was still trapped within a jar. Thankfully it was larger than the last one, but he was still trapped inside. The bottom of the jar was padded with cloth, and there was a walnut shell filled with water in the corner in case he became thirsty. Looking up, the jar was still sealed tightly, but at the very least the kidnapper had punched holes into the lid so he wouldn't suffocate.

There was a piece of paper propped against the jar. A note. Vaati hobbled towards it to read the note, written with bold but delicate strokes:

 _I sincerely apologize for your rough journey here._

 _Tenzi_

"Am I some kind of pet to you?" he growled angrily. Of course, he doubted that the masked man's accomplice had expended so much effort to kidnap him just so they could keep him as some exotic pet. "At least I have a name, now," he muttered.

Tenzi. The more he rolled the name over in his head, the more he hated it. It sounded like such a careless and peppy name. He also hated the note of apology, as though saying 'sorry' was going to excuse the fact that this 'Tenzi' had kidnapped him. Or that this 'Tenzi' was an accomplice to the man who'd turned him into a Minish and had forced Sheik to foolishly resort to forbidden magic to save him.

Speaking of which, he could see no sign of his kidnapper anywhere. From inside the jar, he could tell that they were in a small wooden shack of some kind. The jar was situated on one of the shelves of a bookcase, and from there he could see a table with piles of papers and potion jars shoved to one side and dirty plates with half-finished food on the other, like the resident was always in too much of a hurry to do any cleaning.

Assorted daggers and bows, along with staves, were carefully spread on the far end of the shack, treated with more care than the objects that littered the table. The weapons were lined up in neat rows, in a way that reminded Vaati of the way Sheik would do when he was cleaning and sharpening his blades.

Vaati pressed his nose against his glass prison, trying to get a better look at anything that might tell him what kind of person 'Tenzi' was, anything that he might learn that he'll be able to use against him. It was rather dark inside the shack, since the blinds had been drawn across all of the windows, but from the faint orange glow seeping in through the cloth Vaati guessed that it was already day. However, there was something strange about the light; it glowed, but it was more like the dimming light of twilight rather than the bright glow of the sun. It was a pale, orange yellow, overlaid with a hint of darkness. The best he could describe it was that the light was both bright and dark at the same time, if that were even possible.

He felt a sinking feeling in his chest, then, and his tail twitched distractedly. He'd been ignoring the sense of 'wrongness' ever since he'd woken up inside his jar, dismissing it as the aftereffects of being knocked out cold. It wasn't something he could describe with words, as it was more of a feeling from deep in his core. It was similar to the feeling of bile rising in one's throat, or the feeling of tasting something bitter when you expected something sweet.

Vaati began to suspect that this 'wrongness' wasn't from blacking out earlier, and the more he looked at the strange glow from the window the more convinced he became. There was something very wrong with this world. He didn't belong here, and the world knew he didn't.

 _The Dark World… I'm in the goddess damned Dark World._

He cursed under his breath. This certainly complicated things even further. Assuming he actually _did_ manage to escape this glass jar, he had no idea how he would be able to get himself back to the Light World. As far as he knew, the Dark Mirror had been the one thing connecting the two worlds, and he and Sheik had already shattered that after their fight against Dethl. Clearly there existed another way, but he would most likely need to get that information out of his this Tenzi.

 _If only I had my powers back…_

Ah yes. If he was his old self, he would actually consider being in the Dark World a boon. He would go straight to the masked man's base, which was most likely in this world, and promptly destroy everything.

Instead, he was stuck as a pathetic Minish. He felt so handicapped, not just because of his small frame, but because he felt so _blind_ now that he couldn't 'see' magic like he used to. With the powers granted to him by the Wishing Cap, spells would come to him like instinct. He had been able to see the paths of wind, and he could just reach out with his hands and mold them however he liked. He could simply think of things he required, like his sentries, and his sight would show him how make them a reality. He'd truly been a god…

Worse, still, he couldn't remember how to perform any of the basic magic that most Minish knew of. Simple elemental spells like summoning Din's Fire was lost to him, as those were spells that required training and study to master. Once, long ago, he'd known how, but it had been so long ago that he'd relied on such training that he'd forgotten everything. In his current state, no one would even believe that he'd once been one of the most skilled apprentice mages of his time, much less the infamous Sorcerer of Winds. He didn't even want to attempt basic magic right now out of fear of disappointment.

He sighed, and limped back to his blanket and sat back down in frustration. His nose crinkled into a pained snarl when he caught sight of his hands, no, _paws_. They were a constant reminder that he wasn't who he was supposed to be, and some days he had to do his best not to just take a blade and cut them off so he wouldn't have to look at them.

This… this wasn't him. He'd left this part of his life behind when he'd taken the Wishing Cap from his old master, and when he'd burned his village to the ground as one last farewell to his loathsome past. He never once expected to be confronted by it again. He despised the Minish - he held a special sort of personal hatred for them that wasn't even justified. He hated how naïve they were, and he hated that his blood tied him to them.

When he'd discovered that he'd turned back into a Minish, he'd hidden his distress from everyone, even to Sheik. His pride wouldn't allow it, no one would see how defeated he'd become. He wasn't weak.

He wasn't weak.

Vaati curled up where he sat, burying his head in his knees.

But he was… and oh how his Minish self was a reminder of that.

 _I would rather be dead than to be like this._

He peered out slowly from behind his knees, thinking about the words he'd yelled at Sheik before his capture. He remembered the sting on Sheik's face, the flinch backwards as his words spilled out, unrestrained. He remembered instantly feeling the pang of guilt, though it was uncertain whether it was an artifact of Sheik's guilt that he could feel from being soulbound, or if some of it was his own. He remembered the confusion afterwards from the surge of emotion, and…

He'd done worse without batting an eye before, and yet remembering Sheik's stunned expression made him feel guilty. He'd razed villages, killed people, even, and he'd never once come close to feeling anything like remorse for what he'd done. And yet the one thing that actually made him sick were a few words he'd thrown at Sheik.

He was still angry at him. He couldn't forgive him for what he'd done, to lie to him like that.

To throw his life away like that.

If they reunited, Vaati was sure that he wouldn't be able to speak to him without rage consuming him again.

Vaati sighed into his knees, and sunk back where he sat. That was the thing, wasn't it? "If they reunited." What if they never did? His last memory would be of seeing that look on Sheik's face like he'd hit him, and…

His eyes shot open, words that Sheik had spoken echoing in his head. He never found out what the Sheikah had meant to say, as the words had been left unfinished and broken, and Vaati himself had run off immediately after. _Without you I…_

Vaati's eye twitched, and a thick wall immediately blocked his thoughts. He scowled, his nails digging deep into his arms. Whatever it was that Sheik had been about to say, to imply, he wasn't going to think about it. Those words served him no purpose now.

He glanced at the mark of the Triforce on his paw. If anything, the words made him afraid. He'd already lost enough of himself already. If he tried too hard to decipher those words, he'd gain something only to lose it again.

Frustrated, Vaati pulled at his ears. As a Minish, he wasn't just physically pathetic, it seemed.

He was just pathetic.

"Nene, Pazuu! Raho, ta-yu rioto ushode?"

"Tonho yaa, Amari no tattei riuto naya."

Vaati froze at the sound of voices nearby, and he let go of his long ears which he'd been trying to rip out of his head. The language wasn't Hylian, but he could definitely understand what was being said. Both voices were somewhat shrill, squeaky, even, though he recognized the first as female and the other, male. He slowly looked up, shocked to be hearing a language he'd never thought he'd hear again.

Minish.

"Yoruttemakatsu tsuiko. Ruwakkoka." (This guy got caught. That's so embarrassing.)

He saw movement above him, though he couldn't really see the Minish's features well because of the lid on the Jar. From the air holes, he could kind of make out four beady eyes like his, peering down at him.

One of the Minish, a girl, shoved her friend impatiently. "Nanso toko deinattei tekesuta uroya yo. Pazuu mo shikamu ttamakatsu inajya." (Come on, let's hurry up and help him. Besides, you got caught once too, Pazuu.)

Their dialect was somewhat different than the ones of the forest Minish he was used to. He couldn't identify it yet: it was kind of like the dialect of the mountain Minish, but not quite. The male especially had a more pronounced dialect.

There was a thud, and someone dropped down from the shelf above. Vaati couldn't see them yet, as they had dropped down behind some stones that had been placed next to his jar. He could still hear his voice though, and he caught a glimpse of a paw waving dismissively at his friend above them. "Sou, de kitonoso reo ttakaruwakkoka to royatetametomi." (And I admitted I was embarrassing back then, yeah?)

And then they finally strode into view.

And Vaati's jaw dropped.

Because in all of his life, he'd never once seen a Minish who'd looked anything like himself before. Growing up, he'd been seen as 'different,' and while he truly didn't care about it anymore, a small part of him had always assumed that his unique appearance had been part of the reason why he'd been thrown into an orphanage. Never before had he seen another Minish with the same lavender hair, pale, almost white skin, and crimson eyes.

Who were these Minish?

"Reo wa Pazuu. Eu ni rui no wa Amari sa," (I'm Pazuu. The one up top is Amari), Pazuu said. His black and purple robes flapped around as he swung his arms to warm up. He flicked aside his pale purple hair, and his red eyes narrowed in determination. Then, with one swift motion, the Minish leapt towards the back wall of the bookcase, and then jumped again to catch the edge of the jar that Vaati was trapped in. Pazuu's feathery white tail disappeared from view as he clambered on top of the metal lid. "Io, koso rakkayateshida ttoji yorottema." (Yo, I'm getting you outta there so sit tight okay?")

Sit tight. Vaati didn't need to be told twice to sit tight. He was still reeling from encountering Minish in the Dark World.

Still reeling from encountering Minish who looked just like him.

 _Who the hell are they?_

No, that wasn't the right question anymore.

As the lid slowly squealed open above, he stared at the faint image of himself reflected in the glass of the jar.

 _Who the hell am I?_

* * *

 _fleets:_ ohoho :3c

did you guys like the curveball? I was proud of it during planning, so I hope it had the intended effect (bounces on chair)

By the way, I'm using the Minish language that the Japanese Minish Cap game cartriges used, which is just backwards Japanese. I've included some of the translation above, but you might notice that it's not the literal translation (I don't think the literal translation captures the essence of the dialogue and the accurate personalities of Pazuu and Amari). Pasted below is the original Japanese dialogue that I wrote for them before I shuffled them all backwards, since I think some of their character is lost during translation. Pazuu speaks with a more "Kansai" accent with a bit of personal verbal habits (also some 'words' might look like a mouthful because I don't know where to put the space breaks whoops)

I promise we won't have to deal with a whole lot of these. It's a headache to write, and I'm sure it's a headache to read:

"Ne, ne, Pazuu. Hora, yutta toori deshou?"

"Honto yaa, Amari no itteta touri yana. Tsukamatteruyo koitsu. Kakkowaru."

"Sonna koto ittenaide tasukete yarou yo. Pazuu mo mukashi tsukamatta jyanai."

"Sou, de sontoki ore kakkowarukatta to mitometetayaro." "Ore wa Pazuu. Ue ni iru no wa Amari sa."

"Oi, soko dashiteyakkara jitto matteroyo."

 **Ai Star:** Uh oh indeed!

 **Serpent Tailed Angel** : Haha wellll I wouldn't call it advertising. It was more of a warning, since I know some people hate being surprised about things like that. But ooof NSFL sounds awful? D:  
While I did give permission, I won't be able to tell you yes or no, so I guess I'll just um, sit here and drum my fingers mysteriously? haha

 **John Jefferson:** Your review was for chapter 1, but I hope you get to see this message! Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! I really cherish reviews like this and it really makes me want to keep producing better material, so thank you so much! :D

 **AquilaMage:** Oh whoops I didn't want to overhype(?) it haha ahhh. I'm so happy you liked it! It was really a difficult chapter to write, partly because it hurt to write some of the scenes (the 'rather die' part was one of them ouch). Mysterious Interlopers shall remain mysterious, but now I can officially say that Tenzi's in the story :D

 **Vesperupus:** Aww I'm glad my update helped you feel better! Even though it was a sad sort of chapter hahahaha  
He's a sharp cookie. Do not lie to Vaati because he will find you and he will cut you (and I can't help but feel like this was part of the reason why his relationship with Ezlo became strained hmm). (screams about VaaSheik) ok I'm still a huge fan of VaaZel but there's something about this pairing that I'm writing right now that's become its own animal and. It's ending up being very different than the VaaZel I write and. (ihavesomuchstrongerfeelingsforthisone because of what you said ahhhh. They are special and precious)

(cough). Tenzi was indeed the accomplice and not the masked man ;) UPDATE

 **plum:** I was kind of bummed that I already used the chapter title "Soulbound" because I feel like the last chapter would have been more appropriate haha. Whoops. Things are happening! Lots of things! (I kind of hope I know what I've got myself into haha). Thanks so much plum! (catches hearts and snuggles under blankets)

 **icfehr:** And wheeew he has soooo much drama on his plate. Ooooo I do enjoy people's guessing (though I can't respond much to it because, well, spoilers obviously haha). I do agree that magic deus ex machina is bull! I'm going to try to avoid it in this story (as in, however I wrap up all the plots and sideplots, I hope will have a 'sensible' logic to them rather than a 'surprise! check out this sudden thing that will magically fix everything!').


	11. Gufuu

fleets: I was going to take more time with this, but it turns out that I don't do too well with cliffhangers myself, and ended up writing this a lot faster than I'd intended.

Also I'm sorry I posted some maybe-spoilery pictures on my tumblr immediately after posting the last chapter. I couldn't help it. It was pure torture keeping my mouth shut regarding the plans I had for this Minish arc (if you follow me on tumblr, the safest would be to just blacklist soulbound spoilers haha because I apparently have zero self-control. I still have a handful of twists that I'm just agonizing over not revealing.)

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Gufuu**

The Minish named Pazuu threw down a thick piece of string into Vaati's jar and slid down inside. Though it didn't seem that Vaati's foot was broken considering he'd been able to limp around just fine, it was at the very least sprained, and he wasn't going to be able to climb out without help. Reluctantly, Vaati allowed Pazuu to carry him on his back, at least for the climb out of the jar.

"Wa emana?" (What's your name?) Pazuu asked as he swiftly climbed up the rope and to freedom. He leapt down once they were at the top.

"V-" Vaati stopped himself. Minish tended to live for a very long time, and they tended to remember things that were long since forgotten by the Hylians. Not eager to risk someone knowing the name of the infamous wind mage, he fell back on the name he'd used when Twinrova had brainwashed him. " … Gufuu."

"Shiyo, ramu dema tetteretsu rakkaya yakittomakatsu, Gufuu." (Right, I'll take you to our village so hold on, Gufuu).

The sorcerer insisted that he walk on his own, but to his annoyance, Pazuu and Amari made a good point that he would only slow them down. While it was true that they would be much faster if Pazuu carried Vaati to their village, it only added to Vaati's growing irritation about his situation. Ever since he'd been turned back into a Minish, he'd had to depend on others like Sheik to do, well, anything. Frankly, he was tired of feeling like baggage. Still, they needed to get out of here as soon as they could, lest they risk Tenzi returning.

Not feeling particularly chummy with his rescuers, Vaati kept quiet for most of the trip while the other two chattered between themselves. He didn't like associating with the Minish, who reminded him too much of his distasteful past, but he also didn't like the sound of his own voice when he spoke his native language. The Hylian language was the only thing he had left that kept him separate from the Minish part of his past, and speaking his native tongue was like being forced to confront the side of him he despised.

He drifted in and out of attention at their conversation, as he was more preoccupied about the thoughts in his head. He was still trying to make sense of the fact that he'd run into Minish at all.

The fact that there were others who looked like him was surprising, but the fact that there were any Minish at all shocked him even more. And in the Dark World no less. After all, Minish only appeared in the world of the Big People, as they called the humans and other sentient races, when the Hundred Year Door was open. As the name suggested, the door that connected the two worlds only opened for a brief time, perhaps a month or so, every one hundred years. The fact that he hadn't encountered a single Minish back when he was still in the Light World had suggested that this wasn't the year when the Hundred Year Door was open.

So why in Farore's name were Minish running around now, in the Dark World?

And that was another thing. Dark World Minish. He'd never heard of such a thing. Back when he was still… was still with Ezlo… he'd only ever heard of two worlds: the Minish World, and the Light World. The only place any magical doors in the Minish World led to was the Light World. Not that he really understood a whole lot about the Dark World himself, but considering he'd been an apprentice to one of the top sages of his time back in the day, he would think that he would have heard some mention of it if the Minish World had ever had any dealings with the Dark World.

Then again, no one had ever told him that there were other Minish that looked like him, either. Either Ezlo had decided to hide that information from him for whatever reason, or the old fart hadn't been as knowledgeable as he made himself out to be.

Probably the latter. Ezlo was a senile idiot who knew nothing save parlor tricks - except maybe that Wishing Cap. At least Vaati was able to admit that the cap had been… impressive.

Well, it was impressive, but it was still nothing more than an imitation of the Golden Power.

There was nothing original or brilliant about it.

A sudden darkness jolted Vaati out of his thoughts: they had climbed all the way up to the top of the bookshelf, and had climbed into a hole that had been cut into the wall. It was dim inside the wall of the shack, but it wasn't completely lightless. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed small pearl-like orbs lighting the series of paths and bridges that had been built by Minish hands. He'd seen similar, larger orbs with the same blue symbols inside the shack, and he'd remembered seeing them with Shadow and Ravio as well during their conversations through the Dark Mirror. He guessed that they were something like magical torches in the Dark World.

While he'd been appreciating the orbs, his ears pricked, catching some words that had been distinctly Not-Minish. Pazuu and Amari, chatty as they were, were still conversing to each other; gossiping about people they knew from their village. Wondering if he'd misheard what he thought had been Hylian earlier, Vaati paid more attention to their (honestly) boring conversation.

And there it was again. He was certain of it this time. They were speaking Minish mixed with bits of Hylian.

"You speak Hylian?" Vaati blurted out, his curiosity overcoming his reluctance to converse with his rescuers.

Pazuu and Amari stopped mid-conversation, and then glanced at him in surprise. Amari, who had been leading the way, turned back to look at where she was going, and although Vaati could only see the back of her bun bobbing as she ran, he could tell from the way one of her ears flicked that she was confused by the question.

"Why is that surprising?" Pazuu asked for her, switching to Hylian to match Vaati.

Vaati was even more surprised by how fluent Pazuu was. "Only apprentice sages are taught to speak Hylian," he replied.

"What? What kind of rule is that?" Pazuu frowned. "How else are we supposed to know what the big people are saying?"

Vaati was even more confused now. "Jabber nuts," he said simply. The Minish that he'd known all relied on Jabber nuts to understand what the humans were saying. Jabber nuts were grown with soil infused with the ashes of a book of a certain language, and anyone who ate the seed that grew from the plant would be able to understand that language. They wouldn't be able to speak it, but at the very least they could understand it - only the sages and apprentices to those sages made the extra effort to learn how to speak the language, so that the Minish would have some of their own who could communicate with other races if need be.

Pazuu and Amari exchanged glances with each other. Vaati couldn't see Pazuu's expression clearly from where he was on his back, but he could feel the other boy tense up. "You've got a weird sense of humor, guy," he said, clearly offended even though he was doing his best not to look too annoyed. Vaati could just hear the sigh that the other boy was holding back.

"He was out cold for a while, maybe his memory's a little fuzzy, Pazuu," Amari said in perfect Hylian of her own, and she threw an apologetic glance towards Vaati who, unlike Pazuu, was scowling freely from the other's snippy attitude. She grinned brightly, attempting to keep the peace between them. "At any rate, I'm glad that you are talking now, Gufuu. You should have told us that you preferred Hylian."

Amari's friendly efforts to cheer them up seemed to work, and Pazuu gave a hefty sigh before he caved, "Look, we'd use Jabber nuts if we can, but they only grow in the Minish world, and no one has been back there in ages. We wouldn't _be_ here if we could go back. Same with you," he explained.

 _Ah. So it's not that the Hundred Year Door is open somewhere. These Minish came here from the Minish world, and then got stuck,_ Vaati thought. While it did answer his question as to why he'd encountered any Minish at all, it still left him with even more questions. How had they gotten stuck in this world, and why were they in the Dark World and not the Light?

"And really? Apprentice sages?" Pazuu continued, still huffy about Vaati's questions. "Sages don't exist anymore."

Vaati could care less if he offended Pazuu with his apparently ignorant questions. "Why not?" he asked.

This earned him another stare from Pazuu, who ended up tripping from not looking where he was going. Amari giggled, and Pazuu grumbled, "Where in the world are you _from_?"

"Far," Vaati said simply. It was the kind of annoyingly vague answer that Sheik would have said: the Sheikah would have appreciated his response had he been here. Vaati couldn't help but be amused by the other Minish's exasperated expression. He probably wouldn't have said anything more, if it weren't for his own intrigue regarding his rescuers. "To be honest," he said before Pazuu dropped him out of annoyance, "I've never seen another Minish who looks like me."

"What, so you've just been hanging out with those town Minish softies?" Pazuu asked.

A small hint of a smile appeared on Vaati's face at Pazuu's comment about the 'town Minish softies.' He agreed with him there. "Forest Minish," he corrected.

"Oh bother. _Those_ guys."

" _Pazuu,_ " Amari turned back towards the two boys, her mouth flattened into a thin line.

Vaati shrugged. For the first time since he'd met the two Minish, he felt he could finally relate to what Pazuu was saying. It was the truth. Forest Minish kind of sucked. Amari shook her head exasperatedly at the two of them who'd apparently decided to side together all of a sudden. She disappeared into another hole in the wall, her tail swishing irritably behind her along with some choice Minish words.

"Oh don't be like that, Amari, you know it's true," Pazuu ran after her into a narrow system of tunnels that continued to lead downwards, perhaps below Tenzi's shack. He slowed down a little to talk to Vaati on his back. "Look, so we're temple Minish," he explained. He checked to make sure Amari wasn't too near, and then he said, his eyes lighting up brightly, "We have the most powerful destruction magic-"

" _Elemental_ ," Amari shouted, her sharp ears not failing to pick up on her friend's voice. She reappeared around a corner, and she ran back to them, waving her hand at Pazuu in aggravation. "Don't listen to him, he's being stupid."

"-out of all the Minish, and we help the big people in the most dangerous places in their world," Pazuu continued, unfazed. "That makes us the best," he added with a wink.

"Do you ever wonder," Amari asked slowly, her tiny arms crossing over her chest, "why everyone thinks the temple Minish are all arrogant pricks?"

"They're jealous."

"It's because our tribe is full of goobers like you!" she cried, suddenly throwing her hands up in the air.

Meanwhile, Vaati was reassessing his opinion of Pazuu, who he'd labeled as Annoying earlier. He wasn't that bad. For a Minish at least. He sounded like he had the right idea.

"Besides, none of us can use magic anymore anyway."

Vaati looked surprised by this news. "Why is that?" he asked. Once again, he was returned some puzzled stares which he was beginning to tire of.

Pazuu blinked. "Uh, the same reason you can't," he said slowly, like he was talking to a child who asked too many questions.

Vaati's earlier reassessment of the guy became less favorable, and the Minish-turned-sorcerer's eye twitched. However, he was more worried about the fact that the two Minish didn't think he could use magic either. Instead of doubting them immediately, he had a bad feeling that what they said was true. He looked down at his paws. _I can't?_

With more patience than her friend, Amari explained, "It's the same reason why you were caught. Why do you think the big Big people were able to see you?"

At this, Vaati bit his lip. He'd been wondering about that himself, since only children should have the ability to see the Minish. No one he knew should have been able to see him when he was turned back into a Minish, and yet adults like Sheik and his kidnapper Tenzi had had no trouble finding him. All Minish had inherent magic that prevented all but the most pure hearted of children to be able to see them, and yet…

A pit formed in his stomach. It was true, then. He had no magic at all.

"All of us here lost our connection to magic. If we stay away from the Minish World too long, we lose our powers," Amari continued.

So, that was it then. He really was no better than a mouse now. It made sense, now, why the Hundred Year Door was never open for long: the Minish couldn't stay out of their own world for too long lest they lose their magic. The glare in Vaati's eyes as he clenched his fingers together didn't go unnoticed by Amari and Pazuu, and the two Minish decided to leave him to his thoughts for now. The rest of the trip to the village was uncomfortably quiet, with Vaati sulking in silence and the other two no longer in the mood for chatter. They did ask one more time where he'd come from, but he made it clear that it wasn't something he felt like discussing.

Eventually, they finally came to the end of the tunnels, which opened up into a large cavernous area that had been dug out under Tenzi's shack. It was surprisingly spacious, probably about as large as one of Zelda's rooms back at the castle. Judging from how parts of the ground was lined with old floorboards, perhaps this had once been a subbasement for the shack before it had been left forgotten and abandoned. The same white orbs Vaati had seen earlier lit the area, revealing small Minish houses made of assorted random objects that they'd scavenged: he could see a shoe, a broken vase, and even a large storage box that had been remodeled into a two story inn of sorts. Bioluminescent mushrooms grew from the dirt along stone paved paths, acting as decorative streetlamps.

In the corner of the underground village, there was a spiral stairwell that led up to an open lookout. While Vaati was initially confused why they could see outside when they were clearly underground, he realized then that Tenzi's shack must have been situated atop a ledge - the Minish could leave their village either through the shack itself, or through the cliff side that led directly outside. While the majority of the Minish here appeared to be temple Minish like Pazuu and Amari, he caught sight of a few near the lookout that were more like the Minish he'd once known: they had rosy, peach colored skin, blond or red hair, and dark, almost black eyes.

Amari led them through the village until she stopped in front of a white a blue jar that had been made into a home. There was a sign atop a door that had been cut into the side of the jar, and Vaati could make out the words 'Clinic.' Next to it, was another sign that red 'Closed.'

"You're lucky my mom's the village doctor," Amari said as she unlocked the door. Pazuu followed his friend inside, and set Vaati down on a chair in the waiting room of the clinic while Amari ran off inside. " _Moooom!"_ she called.

After a few minutes she reappeared, her cheeks puffed into a small pout. "We're all out of potions. Sorry Gufuu, but we'll have to wait to get your foot healed." She held out some bandages and ice apologetically - it was the best they could do for his injury, for now.

Vaati was about to ask why they couldn't just ask for healers, and then he remembered that no one had the magic to cast healing spells. Amari anticipated his next question.

"I'm guessing my mom left the clinic to restock on potions. She's usually back within three days when she makes these trips."

"Three days? _!_ " Vaati exclaimed, shooting up from his chair only to crumple back down in agony when his foot couldn't take his weight. He shook his head, frowning. "No, that's way too long. I can't stay here." He'd expected one day at most, since he'd assumed that they would be able to get him healed with either healers (which apparently didn't exist) or potions (which were out of stock). He needed to leave. If he really was in the Dark World, he needed to find Shadow Link or Ravio. He needed to let them know what had happened. He needed to tell Sheik.

"You're not going to get very far with that leg of yours," Amari sat him back down. "The monsters around these parts can get pretty vicious."

"I _have_ to go."

Amari frowned at the stubborn Minish, and she watched him stand up and drag his injured foot behind him as he limped back towards the door. He didn't get very far, because by the time Vaati had reached the door he stopped and steadied himself against the doorway with a frustrated snarl on his face. Eventually, he sat down on the floor in front of the door, glaring at it. He knew that she was right, but he didn't want to admit it.

"At least spend one night to rest. You can use the spare rooms in the clinic here," Amari said kindly, and she walked over with the bandages and extra ice that she'd brought earlier. "You don't look like you've gotten any sleep at all recently, and I'm more worried about other injuries you may have had that we're not aware about. You seemed to be really disoriented when we found you," she added, referencing Vaati's confusing questions regarding the Minish.

Vaati sulked and said nothing in response, though his tail swished testily. He glanced at the Minish girl who was watching him with one hand on her hips, vexed by his stubbornness, and waiting for him to allow her to bandage up his foot. Eventually, he stuck out his injured foot huffily without so much as a please or thank you.

"What's so important that you have to leave so soon?" Amari asked, but Vaati only turned his head away. As she began to wrap the bandage around Vaati's foot to steady it, she was surprised by how soft it was, unlike most Minish who, after running around barefoot, often had rough and scratched feet. _What a curious guy._ Neither she nor Pazuu had wanted to pry, earlier, since Gufuu had seemed too distracted by his new surroundings, but she couldn't help but wonder who he was, and where he'd come from. There was something about him that made him seem displaced; someone not of this world, not of this time. Even his clothes, she had noticed, looked like something that had been taken straight out of the old photographs that her great grandparents had once shown her.

She secured the icepack with some extra bandages around Vaati's foot. Then, she left briefly and came back with a set of crutches made out of thick twigs. "There. Okay, you can use these crutches here so you don't have to limp around so much," she said, and she smiled when Vaati finally turned to look at her after ignoring her earlier question. "There's food in the basement pantry, and you can help yourself to anything here. I'll show you the room you can use in the meantime. If you ever need to leave the house, you can use this spare key."

Vaati allowed Amari to help him up, and he wordlessly grabbed the offered crutches. He wrinkled his nose at them before he awkwardly propped them under his arms and hobbled after the girl to the spare room. He ignored Pazuu who looked like he wanted to say something regarding his shitty attitude towards Amari, who had done nothing but help him to the best of her abilities.

He didn't care.

Her best wasn't good enough.

He needed to tell Sheik _now_ about what had happened.

"Whoever they are, they must be really important to you, huh?"

"What?" Vaati's head shot up, and he looked at Amari questioningly. However, she only giggled at him.

"Here's your room. It has the comfiest bed in the entire clinic!" she said, showing him his room. Then, she made her way back towards the clinic exit with Pazuu in tow behind her. "I have some errands to run. Bye Gufuu!" she waved, and left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _He was running. Running after someone who was holding his hand so tightly it hurt, almost dragging him forwards as his shorter legs struggled to keep up. He could feel the pain in his chest, an ache from exhaustion, and he was having trouble breathing. His feet were sore and bruised, and he didn't think he could run any farther, but the person wouldn't let go of his hand._

"… _G..uu… K...p ru..ing! Keep running!"_

 _Voices. They always said the same thing, but he could barely make it out, except for the last phrase. Keep running. Keep running. So he ran. He wanted to give up, to lie down, go to sleep and never wake up, but they kept telling him to keep running._

 _A push. A door. There was a magnificent white door, its frame arching with intricate carvings of vines and ancient letters. The hands that had been holding his slipped away from his fingers. He was alone._

" _We'll see you again."_

 _He knew it was a lie. He had no one to wait for, because they were never coming back._

 _The white door close shut, and disappeared._

Vaati bolted awake, looking wildly around at his surroundings. He sunk back into the bed he'd crawled into earlier when he realized that he was still in Amari's mother's clinic. The clock hanging from the wall on the other side of the room indicated that he'd fell asleep for two hours. _A dream_.

A recurring dream. He hadn't seen it in a long time, not for hundreds of years. Thousands, even. He hadn't seen that dream since he'd been a Minish, before he'd stolen the Wishing Cap. Vaati sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

Sometimes it didn't seem like a dream at all, and it felt more like a memory, something he'd forgotten a long time ago. It was too vivid for it to be a dream: he could feel the smooth texture of someone's hands in his, could feel the ache in his legs as he ran to keep up with them.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Vaati sat up, the grogginess leaving his red eyes as the door swung open slowly. He tilted his head slightly, surprised to see someone other than Amari or Pazuu. It was yet another temple Minish, with long, pale lavender hair that trailed down to their waist, and light skin. He was older than his two rescuers, however. Much older. The old man's red eyes were a dull, darker carmine, sunken into his wrinkled skin and half hidden by his wispy eyebrows. He was bundled up in some heavy white and purple robes with golden stitching, not unlike what the Minish sages of old used to wear, and a tall, similarly colored hat sat on his head. He shuffled inside, supporting himself with a simple wooden cane.

"Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?" The elder, or so Vaati assumed, asked him.

Vaati didn't respond, and instead watched him carefully, trying to assess if he really felt like talking to an old man who reminded him far too much of his old master. The old Minish tapped one of the white orbs in the room, lighting it, and he sat himself down in a chair near the door; respectful of keeping distance but close enough to indicate friendliness. "I am the elder of this village. Elder Terrari," he said. "I heard from my great great grandson, Pazuu, about you," he smiled behind his whiskers, "I apologize on behalf of Tenzi, the human who lives above our village. Tenzi isn't a bad human, but like most humans he doesn't know about us. He didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sure."

Vaati finally spoke at the mention of his kidnapper. "You're sure about that, are you?" he spat, bitter about his kidnapping and mistrustful of Tenzi's motives.

"Few humans are truly bad. Mistaken, perhaps, but evil, no."

Vaati didn't even try to hide his irritation, and rolled his eyes. It was typical Minish, Vaati thought, to assume good in everybody, to think that everyone deserved helping. That no one was beyond forgiveness. It was a naïve way to go about life, and it was one of the many things that grated on his nerves regarding his birth race.

He didn't really want to have this argument with the elder now, however, since he knew it would be like arguing with a wall and he didn't have any patience for that right now. Instead, he returned a pointed look at the elder, letting him know that, injured or no, he was going to kick him out if the elder tried to lecture him about old Minish values he didn't agree with.

Terrari caught the message, and he coughed apologetically. "Anyway," he said, changing the subject, "as elder of this village, I wanted to let you know personally that you are welcome here for as long as you like, and I will try and help as best I can so that you can return to where you came from."

Vaati snorted. "Help? Then you know how to get back to the Light World, do you?" he asked, cynicism dripping along every word. He was still bitter about learning how he was going to be stuck here for three days while he waited for his foot to heal. That was three days wasted. It wasn't the Minish's fault, sure, but he didn't know who else to throw his frustrations against.

"I understand you're upset, but we're only trying to help you," Terrari said sympathetically at the Minish who slouched deeper into his bed. "The Light World," the elder mumbled to himself with a shake of his head, thinking that Vaati wasn't being serious.

"And I'm saying that I need a way back to the Light World," Vaati snapped. "You think I'm joking, do you?"

"The request is absurd, child," Terrari raised a brow. "If you can tell me where you are from-"

"Leave. You cannot help me."

For a few seconds, the elder was stunned, flabbergasted by the young Minish's rude attitude. He looked like he was about to leave, angry, but he held back his sigh and stopped himself. He looked at Vaati carefully, and then leaned back in his seat.

"So," Terrari started again, sounding somewhat sorry about doubting Vaati earlier, "you really are from the Light World, then?" It was a branch of peace, hoping Vaati would forgive him for being skeptical.

"Your _friend_ Tenzi kidnapped me from there," Vaati shot, though he sounded slightly less annoyed now that the elder was trying to believe him.

Terrari frowned. "Did he now…"

The two became quiet for some time. Vaati looked at the crutches next to his bed a few times, wondering if he should get up and leave, since he wasn't really in the mood to talk to more Minish. However, the prospect of leaving the clinic and encountering even more of them kept him rooted in his bed, and he instead remained sitting under his blankets with a growing scowl, wishing that the elder would just leave.

He could have just asked told the elder to leave, but something stopped him. Deep down, though he was loathe to admit it, a part of him was curious about learning more of these people who looked so much like him.

Terrari, who had been deep in thought, was the first to break the silence again. "Our ancestors were people of the Light World like you," he said quietly, more to himself than to Vaati. "We've long since stopped looking for a way back to the Light World, but if Tenzi knows how… though I suppose it is much too late now. Those of us alive today were all born here, and this is our home now." Terrari tapped his cane on the floor and sighed heavily. He lifted his head towards Vaati. "How many of you are in the Light World now?" he asked.

"I was alone."

"How did you end up stranded away from the Minish World?" the elder asked, confused.

"I wasn't stranded. I chose to stay away," Vaati replied curtly, not wanting to recount the story of how he'd stolen the Wishing Cap. He'd been about to cut the conversation there again, but curiosity finally got the best of him. When he'd first encountered Pazuu and Amari, he'd assumed that they were Dark World Minish. Now, he'd learned that these Minish had been from the same world he'd known, but had somehow ended up here in the Dark World.

To be honest, Vaati was… conflicted. Since he'd first started hatching his plan to steal the Wishing Cap and become a god some thousand or so years ago, he'd convinced himself that he hated the Minish and everything about them. He thought them to be pathetic, and he knew, moving forward, that he would never want anything to do with them ever again.

He'd thought he already knew everything there was to know about them, but now he was finding there was so much more that he still didn't know.

"And the Minish here? How did they get stranded, and two worlds apart no less?" Vaati asked, trying not to sound too interested in conversation.

Vaati's question brought a small smile to the elder's face, glad that Vaati seemed more open to talk than before. Terrari absentmindedly twisted his whiskers around his finger as he talked about his people's history. "Light runs in our blood, but most of us were born here, in what you call the Dark World. As you may know, the Hundred Year Door is open for several weeks, and it connects the Minish World with the Light World," here, Terrari paused, and Vaati gave a slightly impatient, but still curious, nod. The elder continued, "Hundreds of years ago, my mother and father, along with many others, were trapped in the Light World, the world of humans, when the door closed before they could make it back to the Minish World in time. It would take another hundred years for the door to open again. Not wanting to wait that long to return, they made another door using their collective knowledge and skill, but there was one problem."

"The door led to the Dark World instead?" Vaati suggested, guessing where the story was going.

Terrari nodded. "Yes. They were not aware that there was more than one other world that their door could lead to. By the time they all stepped through the door, it was too late: they'd depleted all of their magic after one trip through the door, and they could not hope to use it again unless they replenished their magic at the Minish World. They were trapped, and so resigned themselves to start a new life here."

Terrari paused, and his wizened paws, wrinkled and bony with age, gripped his cane tightly. "Myself, like the others who remain here today, consider this 'Dark World' to be our home. We were born and raised here, and we only know the Minish World through the stories passed down by those who came before us. We all have let go of the possibility of ever going there, but…" he sighed, and he raised his head slightly.

Vaati was taken aback by the elder's expression, one full of remorse.

"I never met him, but I had an older brother, once. He was the only one in my family who ever made it back to the Minish World, before the Hundred Year Door closed," Terrari said, his voice quiet. "He would still be alive, I reckon, since time passes differently there than here. A hundred years here is only fifteen or so in the Minish World. Not a day goes by where I don't wonder if I should have kept trying to find a way back, to let him know he still has family."

By this time, Vaati had had enough of hearing what was quickly turning into the elder's sob story about lost family. He'd given Terrari the benefit of doubt, at first, but apparently all elderly Minish had the habit of derailing conversations into their life story. His old master Ezlo, too, had had that habit - something Vaati had bitter memories about since it often meant that Ezlo would waste precious time talking about a useless story rather than teaching him spells. Before Terrari could continue narrating the details of his long lost brother, Vaati caught his attention with a short cough.

"I think I've heard enough," he said.

Rather than be upset by Vaati's impatient interruption, Terrari laughed apologetically. Understanding that he'd overstayed his welcome, the elder stood up to leave. "Ah, I do apologize. My age turns me into a rambling nostalgic, much to the vexation of those around me." He hobbled towards the door, the layers of his robes following after him like blankets dragging across the floor.

Just when Vaati was about to exhale a sigh of relief that he would finally be left alone, the old Minish stopped by the door frame. "I'm sorry, again, about bothering you today and showing up like this all of a sudden," Terrari said. He chewed on his lip, almost anxious about something. "You said that your name was Gufuu, correct?" he asked.

And then, before Vaati could say anything, Terrari shuffled out the door as though worried about annoying the younger Minish further with his chatter. As the door shut behind him, the elder left with one last phrase that shocked Vaati frozen.

Terrari had meant it as an explanation, perhaps, on why he'd gone into a nostalgic ramble about his brother. The elder had seemed embarrassed for taking up Vaati's time, especially since the sorcerer had looked so irritated during the entire conversation. However…

 _A door. A magnificent white door._

 _Someone pushed him roughly towards it, his fingers leaving theirs. The voices that he'd never been able to make out clearly were coming to him now._

" _Gufuu, keep running! Keep running!"_

Terrari's words echoed in his head, like it was a part of the dream with the white, shining door:

 _"That had been my brother's name, too."_

* * *

 _fleets_ : ohoho :3c

I have so much I want to say, but that would be so spoilery so. I guess I just gotta keep writing more chapters. (shrug).

Those of you who guessed that Vaati was from the Dark World: clooose, but not quite! :P The hint that he wasn't from the Dark World was actually in the last chapter itself, when it talks about the queasy, sick feeling he had that let him conclude that he wasn't in the Light World anymore. More on that in the future, though ;)

This chapter was kind of a huge info dump. D: I hope it wasn't too confusing! (let me know if anything needs to be fixed, and thank you so much for your support! it makes me so happy uwu)

 **AquilaMage:** Impa is totes the team mom haha. I'm kind of imagining a modern au where she's driving them around in a big soccer mom SUV while the rest of them sit in the back (and Shadow's being the annoying one who keeps asking if they're there yet)  
fffff I really can't wait until I get to the Lorule part and Shadow and Ravio.  
Also thank you so much for catching that! I'd initially had the scene set up so that he was actually in a house, but then I changed it so that he was hiding in a cave (and I forgot to change that). I fixed it :)  
Whoops did I give that away in one of those streams? Hahaha oh man I'm just terrible about keeping my mouth shut. I'm happy to hear that it was still exciting though! :D

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** I like the Minish too much to have them suddenly disappear :O. At least in the stories I write, I like to think that, even if they eventually stop showing up in the human world, they're still around somewhere in their Minish counterpart. Ooo ooo I hope that's a good thing! (I'm always happy to surprise people :D as long as it was a good surprise)

 **plum:** (screeches back)a;kdf i'm so sorry i missed your review earlier but i just wanted to let you know that your screaming review made me really happy ;u;

 **Vesperupus:** Ahhhhhh yay your review made my day, really! Glad to know that I still got it :3  
YES PLEASE I love Minish headcanons and I'm sure others would agree! They're such a cute but mysterious race

 **icfehr:** Almooost with your guesses! Vaati wasn't quite from the Dark World, but maybe or maybe not related to the ones who got themselves stuck there. And you were on the right track when you talk about how Vaati didn't encounter a single Minish in the light world (hundred year door!). Oof, maybe I should start worrying that you'll get one of my big twists eventually :P  
Still thinking of Vaati with the needle sword. The imagery is so cute…

 **Ai Star:** Yay, happy you like it so far :D. And almost not quite! Though the ending of this chapter suggests that he may or may not be related to the ones who now call the Dark World their home ;)


	12. Family

Warning: I will start including trigger warnings where necessary. Some of these will be mild (but I don't want to take chances) and others will be… not as mild. As some of these triggers may or may not spoil the chapter, for those of you who are interested in reading these warnings first I ask that you scroll to the VERY BOTTOM of the chapter and read the warning (I believe this is a fair compromise to those who want triggers, and those who do not for spoiler reasons). PLEASE NOTE: I have included a wide space filler between the last sentence of the chapter (IT'S A HUGE SPOILER) and the warning, so you don't accidentally see it while looking for the trigger warning. Please take care.

 _fleets_ : ;lakjds;fklajsf did you guys see BREATH OF THE WILD? I am so excited about that game you have no idea ahhhhhhhh

Anyways, to celebrate, I finished another chapter! I am in a LoZ mood yes I am.

ALSO. If anyone is interested, I wrote a small mini story about what Shadow and Ravio have been doing during the time between Demonbound and Soulbound. I posted it on my tumblr (thewishingcap) because I couldn't fit it anywhere in either of the two stories, and I wasn't sure if it was worth posting on here (though if people prefer it to be up here, I can easily move it). Currently the post is called "The Shadows' Story" under the tag "shadows story" :)

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Family**

Vaati barely remembered what he did for the rest of that day. Time had passed in a strange blur. He remembered getting up and limping over to the door to lock himself in, wanting to be left alone. He vaguely recalled Amari coming home from whatever errand she had left for, knocking on his door shyly and wondering aloud if everything was ok. He pretended to be sleeping, and she never came back to bother him again. He recalled getting up just one more time to grab food as he had gotten hungry. Amari had left him a plate just outside his door so he wouldn't have to walk to the pantry on his injured foot.

On the plate were some apple slices and a piece of bread, cut into a triangle and filled with nuts and wild berries. Chaspa bread. Minish food. He hadn't eaten one since…

…

He remembered eating the bread resentfully while he continued to keep himself locked up in his room.

It was now morning of the day after. He'd hoped that maybe after one night of good, restful sleep, he would be able to think clearly again. He couldn't. He'd slept quite a lot, long enough for Amari to have left the clinic, judging from how quiet it was, and yet his sleep had been far from restful. Though he appeared calm, he was trying not to break down into a panic attack.

The fact that he was internally screaming, too, made him uneasy. It made him nauseous. His unease in turn made him angry, angry that he was feeling so rattled, and he threw the book by his nightstand at the wall.

There was a satisfying slam as the book smacked the wall, followed by an almost sad thud as it fell onto the floor. Vaati stared at it from where he sat on his bed, the corner of his eye twitching slightly. Then, he sunk back slowly against the pillow that was propped against his back, his chin touching his chest as he tried to make sense of everything that had happened in the last few days.

He didn't know what to think. _Family_. He turned the word over in his head, but it only left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd been abandoned by family at an age when he was too young to remember anything about them. The last time he'd even had a passing thought regarding his family was before he'd left the orphanage, way before he'd even met Ezlo.

His eye twitched again, his brows sinking further down into a glower as old memories reluctantly resurfaced: An image of a Minish sage, his face buried under long wispy brows, and long white hair and beard that was as long as he was old.

Ezlo. He remembered leaving the orphanage with old Master Ezlo, a supposedly famous sage who'd taken it upon himself to teach him all there was to know about magic. He didn't remember how old he'd been when he left, maybe around twelve? Thirteen?

Young.

Naïve.

He'd left the orphanage as an apprentice, and one that was the envy of everyone in the village. He was gifted, Ezlo had said. One of the most magically attuned students he'd ever seen.

It turned out he'd been so gifted that Ezlo could never satisfy his thirst for knowledge. He wanted more. He _deserved_ more. And yet the old man had refused him, punishing him for his impatience and berating him for his reckless pursuit of learning increasingly dangerous and daring spells.

He remembered how something had clicked in his head one day, in one conversation with the old "Master." He didn't remember what the conversation had been about, exactly, but he remembered seeing for the first time not the fatherly figure who had led him to a place he thought he could call home, but a stupid, selfish man who kept him trapped inside a prison.

Family. He had no family. Never did.

They meant nothing to him, because he'd meant nothing to them as well.

Except…

Except that wasn't the whole story now, was it?

Suddenly, Vaati threw the bedcovers off of himself and tossed it to the floor angrily. He hopped down, careful not to place weight on his bad foot, and snatched the crutches with a terrible glare on his face. Slamming the door behind him, he limped out of the clinic for a breath of fresh air, the crutches banging against the ground a little more forceful than necessary with each step.

A few Minish who'd been passing by glanced at the angry-looking Minish on crutches who'd barged out of the Clinic. Vaati gave them a warning glare to mind their own business, and they scurried along, though he could hear them gossip about him as soon as they thought they were far enough away.

Irritated, Vaati picked a direction and began to blindly make his way through town. He made his way away from what he thought was the center of the village, towards the darkened walls of the cavern where the sunlight from the outer entrance couldn't reach.

What if… what if Terrari's lost brother was…

Vaati shook his head.

 _They mean nothing to me._

It had to be more than just a coincidence. The Minish who never made it back to their home world. Terrari's older brother, the one person who'd made it. The Hundred Year Door. The white door in his foggy memories.

Terrari was his younger brother.

 _It means nothing to me._

Eventually, Vaati found himself at the edge of town. There were fewer houses here, and there weren't as many Minish walking about on the pebbled paths. The faintly glowing mushrooms were growing in a more haphazard manner, rather than in the neat, tended rows near the busier part of the village. He limped towards one tiredly and sat down on the cool earth against its blue-green stalk.

Gufuu.

That had been his real name, hadn't it? He had thought that the name had been a fake one that Twinrova had planted in his head when they'd brainwashed him: instead, it had been a real name. His name. One that had been buried in the deepest, darkest places of his memories all this time. Until now, he hadn't remembered it.

Vaati grimaced, and rested his head against his hands. Bits and pieces of memories he'd rather have left forgotten came rushing back in a chaotic, disorganized mess.

Memories of someone pulling him towards a white door.

Overwhelming fear, fear of being alone.

The feeling of bile rising to his throat as the door slammed shut and disappeared behind him.

Flashes of scenes. Flashes of people asking questions. Of people surrounding him. Of someone repeating a word he didn't understand then, but knew what it meant now.

"Trauma."

In traumatic shock.

No memory.

He doesn't know how to talk.

Can't remember his name.

" _AAAUUUGH!"_

Without warning, Vaati threw one of his crutches as far as he could in anger, and then whirled around and punched the stalk of the mushroom he'd been sitting against. His nose quivered in rage when the mushroom only returned a pathetic "Poff!" in response, and he ground his teeth in frustration when he realized that without his crutches he was going to have a hard time walking around.

Instead, he sat back down and decided to take his frustrations out on himself, biting down hard on his left wrist until his sharp teeth punctured the skin so he bled. He didn't care if he was being self-destructive, if he was mutilating himself. At least the pain kept him from returning to those memories he'd been forced to relive.

After some time, he noticed that he wasn't alone in this far corner of town. He stopped gnawing at his wrist, and craned his neck at the person who was casually strolling through the mushroom groves, their long heavy robes dragging behind them.

 _Terrari_.

Vaati shrunk back, not wanting to be found by the elder. His _brother._ He slowly pushed himself off of the dirt and was about to leave, but something stopped him. He stood quietly in thought for a few seconds, and then glanced over his shoulder at the elder who hadn't noticed his presence.

He wasn't sure what it was that compelled him to retrieve his crutches and limp back towards Terrari, but before long he found himself standing behind the old man, patiently waiting for him to notice him.

Terrari, who had been enjoying his stroll, slowed down when he sensed someone following him. "Oh! You startled me quite badly, child," Terrari exclaimed when he finally noticed Vaati limping behind him. He exhaled, "You almost sent me to an early grave."

Vaati hesitated, as though he had something to say, but wasn't sure how to say it. He stared back blankly for a few seconds, and then his familiar scowl returned. "Early?" he asked, with a hint of derision. It was more forced than usual, however, like he was trying too hard to hide his earlier breakdown.

"I still have another thousand years left in me. They won't get rid of me that easily," Terrari chuckled in good humor. Then, concern flashed across his face briefly when he noticed Vaati's wrist, fresh blood dripping down his fingers from the wound along it. He opened his mouth to ask if he was all right, but then decided against it: Vaati had proven to be a rather avoidant individual, and he didn't want to scare him away when the boy clearly needed someone to talk to. "Did you get a good night's sleep?" he asked instead.

Vaati remained silent, his gaze lowering. His red eyes narrowed as he tried to think of something to say. To be honest, he didn't even know what he expected when he limped after Terrari. A part of him just wanted to leave, but another part desperately wanted answers, though answers to what, he didn't know. He didn't know what to ask.

He didn't know if he even wanted to ask anything.

Terrari smiled back kindly. "We'll find a way to get you back, don't you worry," he said. The elder watched Vaati continue to struggle about figuring out what to say. At the very least, the other Minish seemed like he wanted to talk today, unlike yesterday when he'd gotten the distinct feeling that he wanted nothing to do with him. The boy looked so lost, wanting help but not used to asking for it. Unable to ask for it.

The elder didn't know much about the rescued young Minish, but never had he seen another person with shoulders pressed down with the weight of burden that this one appeared to carry. There was something about those red eyes that suggested they'd seen things few people should ever see in their lifetime. There was a fire behind him, though, that burned with anger wrought from pain.

Terrari didn't know if there was anything that could be done to help someone like this young lad, but he thought he knew where to start.

Terrari waved a hand, beckoning him over towards the light of one of the glowing mushrooms growing nearby. He hobbled over towards it until the soft blue glow lit up his face, while Vaati tilted his head questioningly. Vaati didn't move at first, but then limped over cautiously.

"Would you like something to keep yourself busy while you wait for your foot to recover?" Terrari asked, waving his cane at Vaati's injury.

Vaati crinkled his nose, but still he showed no sign of leaving. "I dislike spending time for the sake of spending time."

"Ha! A cynical one, aren't you?" Terrari laughed, glad that Vaati was at least willing to talk. The injury on his wrist worried him, as it looked like it had been self-inflicted, and Terrari wanted to keep him talking and willing to keep communication open with him. "I think you'll find this well worth your time, I assure you."

There was caution in Vaati's voice, but there was also a willingness to listen. It was something at least. "What are you proposing?" he asked, intrigue just barely seeping past the skepticism.

A grin appeared behind Terrari's long whiskers, his lips pulled back in a way that was almost youthfully mischievous. He moved closer to the stalk of the glowing mushroom where the blue light shone brightest. "Oh, just something like," there was a flash of light, and the elder disappeared into thin air as tiny orbs of flickering light, and he eventually melted into the ambient glow. Then, he reappeared again, several feet away near another glowing mushroom. Terrari laughed out loud when he saw the look of utter shock on Vaati's face. "This," he finished with a grin. He hobbled back over, his cane tapping the ground. "Ah, see, I knew you'd be interested," he observed as he approached the still-stunned Minish.

"I thought magic didn't…" Vaati trailed off, unable to hide his surprise. His cold standoffish attitude left completely, and was staring at Terrari with his mouth hanging open.

"It doesn't exist among us, I'm afraid."

"Then what was that?" Vaati demanded.

"A neat trick," Terrari grinned. Then, he added with a laugh, "We're still Minish you know, we are more than just small animals."

Vaati frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. There was something familiar about the elder's mischievous smile, and he regretfully admitted that a younger Terrari might have been annoyingly similar to himself. He recalled Terrari saying Pazuu was his great great grandson, and he figured the pretentious attitude ran in the family. "You didn't answer my question," Vaati said, annoyed.

"It's called light walking," Terrari explained. "It is precisely because of our connection to the Light World that we can do this, and I suppose people from the Dark World would be able to do something similar in the Light World as well."

At this, Vaati thought back to Shadow Link's ability to move in and out of shadows at will in the Light World. Tenzi, the Interloper from the Dark World who'd kidnapped him, had also demonstrated a similar ability, and Terrari's description sounded familiar. Did that mean he could do something like that here, in the Dark World? "But what _is_ it if it isn't magic?"

Terrari shrugged.

"You don't know?" Vaati asked incredulously.

Terrary shrugged again. "What does it matter if it works, hmm? Here, why don't you give it a try?" he waved his cane dismissively at Vaati's unimpressed frown, and the elder tried not to sound too pleased that he'd caught Vaati's full attention. When Vaati finally nodded, the elder cleared his throat. "So, since you have come to the Dark World just recently, I am sure you have noticed a nauseous sensation, a feeling like you don't really belong here?"

Vaati nodded again. He'd felt it as soon as he'd woken in this world, and he'd also heard Shadow complain about the sensation back in the Light World. It was the first thing that clued him in to the fact that he was no longer in the world he was supposed to be in.

"Well, it's like a tug isn't it? Like there's something always tugging you back, trying to tear you apart?" Terrari continued. "The trick is to stop fighting that feeling. Let go. Follow the pull. The pull you feel is the Light World calling you back to where you belong."

Vaati waited expectantly for a more concrete example on what he needed to do, but Terrari only shrugged again. Vaati's brows furrowed and he looked down at his hands in confusion. Let go? Let go how? He looked at the elder flatly when Terrari laughed again.

"Ah, I know, I know that was a terrible explanation, but I just don't have a better way to explain it," he said. "It's kind of like learning how to whistle: it sort of just clicks when you get it right the first time, and then you'll be able to do it without thinking about it. It will take a while to get the feel for it. Just keep practicing, and you'll figure it out."

Vaati sighed in response. He would have liked some more direction from Terrari on just what, exactly, he was supposed to do to learn how to light walk. He disliked wasting time. He needed to know how to do this today. Right now.

He almost demanded that Terrari just tell him what in Subrosia he was supposed to do, but the memory of Ezlo stopped him.

He remembered Ezlo's expression, just before he'd turned him into a talking hat: rather than looking at him in fear and awe at the power he'd obtained through the Wishing Cap, his old Master had looked at him with _disappointment_. The old man had assumed that he'd cheated his way to greatness, that he was lazy, that he… he…

Vaati bit his lip.

 _I'll show you._

Vaati took a deep breath, and rather than demand that Terrari tell him how to learn this ability, he concentrated on the feeling of the "pull" that the old man described.

The elder watched the other boy, whose eyes were squinted in cold hard determination. Terrari sat down on a nearby rock while Vaati practiced light walking. He smiled, glad that he'd been able to get the mysterious Minish to distract himself with something other than self-harm, though he was still a little worried by the bitter anger that still burned in his eyes. Minish were optimistic creatures by nature, and to see one with such twisted resentment made him wonder just what this 'Gufuu' had gone through to make him so. "My mother was the first light walker among us. We try to teach everyone the skill, but not everyone gets it, and it seems to be harder for those who are born several generations later in the Dark World. Do not be discouraged if you're not able to do it in a day, as it is not necessarily an easy skill to learn."

Vaati's expression softened briefly at the mention of his mother, and he broke his concentration to turn his attention towards Terrari. He was lost in thought for several seconds, and he seemed conflicted as to whether or not he wanted to say something. Then, the anger dimmed for but a moment, and he asked hesitantly, "What was she like?"

Terrari raised an eyebrow. "You seriously want to hear an old man's stories about his own parents?"

"…"

The elder watched Vaati turn his head away with a darkened expression, and then he leaned against his wooden cane thoughtfully. "She was talented in magic," he began, and he smiled a little when he saw Vaati's ears prick, indicating that he was listening carefully despite the fact that he was faced away from him. He continued nostalgically, "Always let everyone know that she used to be one of the greatest mages of her time, even long after we all lost our connection to magic. She had a forceful personality. Everyone joked that she was a walking storm with chaos following her wake."

"Sounds troublesome," Vaati murmured, and Terrari broke into laughter.

"Hahaha, perhaps! Everyone loved her for it, though, and she had a big heart. She was just a little too passionate sometimes, I suppose. She had a big imagination, and whenever she had an inspiration, no one would be able to stop her no matter how reckless her ideas were. Her good ideas led to things like light walking. Her bad ones, well," he scratched his head in embarrassment, "Let's just say we had to move around often until after her passing."

At this, Vaati tilted his head slightly towards the elder. He feigned disinterest, but Terrari could tell that he was hanging on to every word. The elder chuckled at the unspoken request for elaboration.

"Well, she may have accidentally burned down an entire block of houses once," he explained. And then he added with a frown, "Or twice."

Vaati turned away with a grunt, and went back to focusing on trying to light walk.

Terrari smiled approvingly when the edges of Vaati's toes glowed white for a brief moment before it faded. _He learns quick,_ he thought, _one of the fastest I've seen._ The elder continued to ramble, his voice soft and wistful while next to him Vaati continued to practice. Vaati would have never admitted it, but the scene was almost like one of the rare good days that he'd had while apprenticed under Ezlo: the old man talking stories of old, stories that Vaati claimed were boring but stories he secretly enjoyed, while the apprentice mastered spells.

"My father was the only voice of reason she would listen to. He was soft spoken, but when he did speak you knew to listen. He always chose his words carefully. Even then, though, there was one thing my mother wouldn't listen to anyone about."

Vaati didn't turn his head this time, but his ears flicked. He was listening.

"Every single day, until the day she died, she never stopped looking for a way to return to the Minish World. Even when everyone else had moved on and accepted losses, she never stopped. She worked so hard… I think it might have killed her in the end. My father never tried to stop her, either."

 _We'll see you again._

"Both of them… they never stopped looking for him," Terrari sighed. Suddenly, he noticed that Vaati had long since stopped practicing light walking, and was staring at him, his red eyes wide. The look on the boy's face, though… "Goodness, my boy, is something the matter?" Terrari asked, rushing over to Vaati out of concern.

Vaati blinked, and he didn't even pull away when the elder placed a worried hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Something fell down along his cheeks, and he brought a trembling hand to them.

"I… I don't know," he stammered hoarsely, and he stared at his fingers which were slightly moist from the tears they had touched. _I'm… crying?_

His vision was blurred from the water pooling under his eyes, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop it. Strangely, he found his lips tugging into a small, crooked smile as well. Normally, he would have been ashamed to admit to crying, but his thoughts were too blurred to be thinking about that now.

 _They never stopped looking._

"I don't know," he repeated, his voice a whisper. Tears dripped onto the palm of his hands that were held out in front of his face.

For the first time in over a thousand years, Vaati, the Sorcerer of Winds, the Arch Demon of the Skies, cried.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A tear rolled down Sheik's face.

The Sheikah blinked in surprise, and he brought his fingers to his cheek tentatively. He stared at his fingertips, damp from the tear, and then hastily wiped his eyes dry while muttering to himself about the dirt that must have got caught in them.

He was currently near the place where he'd last lost Vaati, far beyond Hyrule fields and close to the forests near the Faron province.

He didn't expect to find anything, knowing that someone trained as a Sheikah wouldn't leave trails behind for people to follow, but he had to try something. He couldn't stand just simply waiting in the castle for something to happen.

The last few days, too, had been a complete mess, and even Impa had to warn him as he'd been uncharacteristically distracted. There had been a few times where he'd lost track of whether he was Sheik or Zelda, and had wandered the castle as the princess. If Impa hadn't caught him, there would have been a confusing uproar regarding the two Princess Zeldas that were walking around the castle.

He knew he had to snap out of it, but at the same time, he wasn't sure how. He'd never fallen to pieces like this before, except perhaps half a year ago when they'd returned to Hyrule Castle from Death Mountain only to see it in ruins from Dethl's attack. Back then, however, Vaati had been there to help keep him together. Now…

Sheik searched the tall grass for the hundredth time for anything that would tell him where Vaati's kidnapper had gone. He ignored the brambles that cut into his skin and pressed forward, determined that he would find Vaati no matter what it took.

He had to.

From time to time he glanced down at the mark of the Triforce on the back of his hand. Though it had become a symbol of dread, knowing that it was something that kept Vaati alive but would also result in one of their deaths, recently it had become a source of hope, because as long as its glow was dull, it meant that the sorcerer was still alive.

If Vaati died then…

Sheik honestly didn't know what he would do if he lost Vaati. The sorcerer was his best friend, perhaps the only true friend he'd ever had. As both the princess and the warrior, Sheik had always been distant from others, never allowing them to come too close, and for that reason friendships had always been difficult to keep. Few others, too, would also understand how he led two lives, one as Zelda and the other Sheik, and not even Link knew the secret that Sheik and Zelda were the same person.

He wasn't ready to go back to that lonely place at the top of the kingdom, alone, if Vaati never came back. Vaati _understood_ him, since the sorcerer, too, had once stood at the top of world, and knew what it was like to be alone despite all the people who followed them.

He would do whatever it took to get his friend back, even if it cost him his life.

Sheik ducked past some branches that were blocking his way, sweeping his gaze for any signs of the Interloper passing through. Then, he paused, thinking about a word that he wasn't sure of anymore.

 _Friend_.

That's what he was, right? A friend? Something about that word made him uncomfortable, though, and it wasn't because he'd once been mortal enemies with the wind mage.

It was just that sometimes, he felt like the word didn't do justice to… whatever it was they had.

He'd be lying if he said that he never considered if there was something else going on between them, but he'd always dismissed the possibility that it was something else. He knew that the two of them were close, close to the point that he knew that Vaati wouldn't hesitate to risk his life for his, the same way he would for him. The bond between them was undeniable.

And this wasn't something new, not something that was simply an artifact of being soulbound, though he supposed it contributed. He desperately relied on Vaati, and sometimes he had a feeling that the sorcerer felt the same way.

What did that mean?

They were good friends.

 _You always were a liar._

Sheik stopped in the shade of a tree, finally past the brambles and grass. The Triforce of Wisdom flickered back almost tauntingly.

 _Am I a liar?_

He didn't know the answer to that.

Besides, none of that mattered without knowing what Vaati's opinion was. The last time they spoke, Vaati had been so angry with him, and Sheik knew that the sorcerer had every right to hate him for what he'd done. From the way Vaati had run away from him that night, he wouldn't be surprised if their friendship had been irreparably damaged…

It would be just as painful to lose his friend by bringing this up as it would be to lose him through death.

Death.

By the goddesses he needed to find Vaati fast.

But where… where did he go?

Suddenly, Sheik noticed that something in his inventory bag was vibrating, _had_ been vibrating for a while now. Hastily he grabbed the object from his bag: it was the Dark Mirror shard.

"Hello? _Hello?_ "

"Ravio?" Sheik asked in surprise when the ridiculous bunny hood of Ravio focused into view along the surface of the mirror. He recalled Impa telling him about her conversation with him a few days ago, and the ominous way that their conversation had ended. Thankfully, Ravio appeared to be okay, but from the way he was looking over his shoulders nervously, Sheik could tell that the dark haired boy wasn't out of trouble yet.

"Look, I gotta keep this short, okay? It's not safe," Ravio said hurriedly. From the way he spoke in a nervous hush, Sheik understood that it was likely that they were being listened to by potential enemies. "You need to go see Hylia. Do you understand?" Ravio asked.

 _See the… goddess?_ Sheik wondered, puzzled at first.

"You have to see _Hylia_ ," Ravio repeated, his voice rising a little out of urgency.

Hylia. What could he mean by Hylia? Sheik glanced at Ravio, who was biting his bottom lip and looked like he was trying very hard to stop himself from using hand signals to tell him what he meant: it was a worrying thought, since that also meant that whoever was listening in, was potentially watching them, too.

He thought harder. Hylia had to mean a location, and Sheik could think of two possibilities as to what Ravio meant: one of the temples to the goddess, or Lake Hylia. Seeing how Ravio was taking extra precautions not to be found out, the place and name Hylia had to be somewhere that had some significance that only he and Sheik would know about.

The Water Temple?

"All right," Sheik said, and began to hurry his way over to the lake.

"Go immediately, okay? Okay bye!" Ravio said, sounding a little relieved, and then quickly disappeared before Sheik could ask anything more, the Dark Mirror's connection breaking.

It was only about an hour and a half trek from where he was to the lake. As the Sheikah made his way there, he couldn't help but wonder why Ravio wanted him to go to the temple at the bottom of the lake, and why it was so important to do so. His fingers kept darting towards the daggers near his hip, and he couldn't shake his sense of unease.

Sheik reached the lake slightly out of breath from having run there as fast as he was able. It was beautifully calm when he arrived at the lake, with the water reflecting the bright orange and reds of the autumn leaves. A few boats of fishermen were out on the water, but aside from that there was no one around. As he casually 'borrowed' a raft that was tied to one of the lakeside docks, he was brought back to the time last summer when he'd done the same thing with Vaati to get to the underwater temple. Going to the Water Temple with nothing but a message from a Shadow Link (Ravio in this case), there was a weird feeling that he was retracing the same steps as before.

He tied the raft to the same tree growing on the island in the middle of the lake, and when he dove into the water he half-expected a perpetually complaining sorcerer to follow after him.

When he surfaced again in the cavern opening of the Water Temple, a pair of hands roughly pulled him out of the water, too, just like before.

The way he was dragged up to his feet, the way that his captor's arms hooked around his neck in a choke hold, and the way a dagger was pressed against his neck…

All of this was so exactly like before that it was kind of eerie.

Maybe he should have been worried the moment someone ambushed him from the water, but by the time the dagger was placed along his neck, he already knew who it was.

"… You can't be serious," Sheik said, trying to hide his incredulity, and he couldn't help himself from smiling.

The dagger that had been pressed against his neck was twirled playfully by his captor's fingers, and then it disappeared. The captor still kept Sheik in a choke hold, but it loosened up a bit, and it turned into more of a playful side hug.

"Hey Sheik," Shadow Link asked, flashing that sly, toothy grin that Sheik was all too familiar with. "Did ya miss me?"

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WARNING: Please be aware that there is self-harm in this chapter. I do not support this practice, so please do not try to uh… copy what the characters do here no matter how much you love them. It's no good.

 _fleets:_ ohoho :3c

You know, once upon a time I told myself, "fleets, if you ever write a legit crying Vaati, you know you have to retire writing because you _know_ that the purple bat baby that you write is NOT a crier. He will never cry, there will be no scene where he cries, and he will especially not cry in front of anyone!"

Shows what I know lol.

And Shadow Link hurrayyy I finally get to write him now, it's been a long wait :)

 **plum:** Oh my gosh plum I am so sorry! I think when I first went through the review responses last time I missed yours D: (I added it again later, but I had no way of contacting you since you're a gust account, so I hope you get to see this message!). Anyways thank you so so much! (and hahahaha I love how your first thought is Vaati doing something dumb, you know him too well)

 **Lunamew:** Aaaand one shellshocked Vaati coming right up. I totally get ya when you say the Minish World thing was confusing! I don't think they explained it very well in the games (in this story I'm treating it as an alternate dimension, kind of like how Lorule is. I don't explain it in this story, but the houses you see in the Light World are temporary living spaces for the Minish who traveled across worlds during the Hundred Year Door event).

Yesss glad you caught that :D. There's a bit of a family resemblance in personality tendencies though, to the annoyance of Vaati haha

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Ahhh, well by bad I meant more like "well that surprise came out of nowhere and it's more like a badly written deus ex surprise." Or one of those surprise romances that come out of left field (partly the reason why I decided against pursuing any real ship in Demonbound, no matter how much I wanted it by the end haha). I hope this chapter answers the name question! (you were right about your guess :D )

Also ahhh thank you so much for catching that embarrassing mistake! It's fixed now!

 **Ai Star:** Correct! They're brothers! And ahhh thank you so much I hope I can keep up to expectations until the end!

 **LunaEtSidera:** Ehehe that kind of reaction was the best I could have hoped for (eee thank youuu!)  
I'll try to keep the chapters interesting as we go!

 **icfehr:** UMMM (sweats nervously) that sounds like an extremely complicated story lol…  
What we know from the last chapter is that:  
Vaati's parents were from the Minish World. They got stuck in the Light World when the Hundred Year Door closed on them before they could make it back (Vaati was the only one who managed to make it through in time). They attempted return by creating another door, but instead of linking the Light World to the Minish World, it linked to the Dark World instead.  
There really isn't any time loop/paradox involved here. Time is always moving forward in both worlds, just at different speeds (so there's no 'backward/forward' time travel). If you left the Minish World and spent a month in the Light World, when you come back it would seem to the others in the Minish World that you'd left for a few seconds. A hundred years may pass in the Light World, but only fifteen or so pass in the Minish world (if that makes sense?)  
I've hinted at how magic works, but never explicitly stated it (not yet relevant to any sort of plot, so I haven't described it). Monsters (like wizzrobes) have innate magic. They don't have to study or train to know how to cast spells, they just know how to do it. When the Wishing Cap granted Vaati magical powers, it gave him an ability similar to monsters (no training required, he could just "see spells" like he described in Demonbound).

Humans usually do not have any sort of magical ability, save for very few special individuals. Sheikah are the exception, and they are magically attuned. Minish are similar in this manner. However, these types of individuals still have to train/study magic to be able to cast spells effectively (hence training with sages). The Minish, however, lose their magical ability if they are absent from their world for too long.

I hope that clears things up! (and no worries, I do not mind long rants at all haha they're interesting to read :D )

 **AquilaMage:** Vaati's probably wondering when the heavy hitting reveals will end haha (poor thing)  
oOOooOOhhhh I do vaguely remember reacting like that at one point hahaha. You were so so so close to the direction I was going to take this, with Lorulean Minish, I was sooooo tempted to say something!

Hope I have more surprises for you. They are coming, they are :3


	13. Friends From All Over

fleets: I blame my wonderful peppers from tumblr who nudged my motivation with wonderful, wonderful pictures. You know who you are.

also Happy Canada Day! Don't know much about it, but I heard that's today.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Friends from All Over**

"Hey Sheik, did ya miss me?"

Sheik stared at Shadow Link in shock, and the shade cackled at his expression and slapped him across the shoulder jovially. Then, he swatted him away when Shadow pinched his cheeks, but he couldn't help but laugh with him. He'd never thought he would ever see Shadow Link again after they had destroyed the Dark Mirror at the Palace of Winds, and he couldn't have been happier to see him again. "Shadow Link? How did you get here?" he asked, smiling for the first time since he'd lost Vaati. They grasped each other's shoulders, almost as though to confirm that they were really real. Solid.

"We've been busy," Shadow said proudly, pulling away to blow away some imaginary dust from his fingertips, "We learned a few tricks from some knowledgeable folk." It hadn't been too long ago since Sheik had seen that mischievous smile during their talks through the mirror shards, but he had to admit that he'd missed seeing it in person. They'd saved each other's lives once, and a bond borne from something like that was special. Friends.

 _That's what he was, right? A friend?_

Sheik hesitated, a frown emerging on his lips as the questions he'd had only hours ago regarding Vaati surfaced once more, an absentminded thought. He was friends with Shadow as well, but he couldn't deny that his relationship with the shade was different - it wasn't that he was closer to Shadow, but he was never on edge like he was with Vaati. Maybe it was because Vaati was just trouble on two legs, but he could never shake the feeling that he needed to keep an eye on the sorcerer. Perhaps analyzing each of his relationships was a silly thing to do, but Sheik wasn't accustomed to real friendships and he couldn't help but wonder about the ones he'd made in recent times.

Something just didn't sit right with Vaati, but he didn't know why that was.

Then again, what did he know about friendship anyway?

"Anyways, heard about your little big problem about Master Vaati from Ravio."

Sheik blinked when he realized that he'd drifted off thinking about the missing sorcerer again, and he shook his thoughts away. _Focus._ He stiffened at Shadow's mention of the wind mage, but he said nothing, instead allowing Shadow to talk.

Shadow was oblivious towards Sheik's brief distraction, and he continued to ramble with exaggerated hand movements, too happy to talk to Sheik about what he'd been up to. "I heard he's been kidnapped, on top of being turned into some kind of mouse, and that's kind of why I'm here right now," he said, waving his hand vaguely at the cavern of the Water Temple around them. "I would've explained stuff to you through the mirror if I could, buuuut we made a few enemies who are a little too good at eavesdropping. So I'm here in person, to tell you that those people who were after you and Master Vaati?" Shadow paused, holding up a finger conspiratorially, and then winked, "Ravio and I have been after them for a while now, too."

"The Interlopers?" Sheik asked, still a little ruffled by his earlier, intrusive thoughts. He squeezed water out of his scarf quietly.

"Heh, they call themselves the 'True Sheikah,' believe it or not. But yeah. I think that's what you call 'em." Shadow shrugged. He noticed Sheik's eyes narrow at the mention of 'True' Sheikah, and he shook his head, anticipating Sheik's question. "And before you ask, I would've told you about them earlier if I could have. Things blew up on our side so fast, and we didn't think that they would step over to the Light World to cause you trouble. We've been working pretty closely with Princess Hilda, and all of us assumed that it would be _our_ problem," with this, Shadow sighed and scratched his head, clearly bothered that Sheik and Vaati had gotten involved. "We wouldn't have involved you if you weren't already ass deep in this shit."

Sheik's expression softened and he looked up when he noticed his friend turn away in shame. He had so many things he wanted to ask Shadow Link regarding the people they were fighting against, but he set those questions aside for now.

He hadn't noticed until now how Shadow and Ravio had been hiding their struggles from him and Vaati, but looking back the signs had all been there: the long stretches of time without contact, the forced friendliness during their conversations, and always steering the conversation to what Sheik and Vaati were doing, rather than talking about Dark World news. Sheik hadn't realized it because he'd been too preoccupied with the chaos left in the wake of Dethl's attack, but maybe that was exactly why neither Shadow nor Ravio had told them about their own problems. He'd always just assumed that Shadow and Ravio were doing simple dungeon crawls or patrols for Lorule's throne, not getting themselves caught up in a fight against an extremely dangerous tribe like the Interlopers.

He should have known. "You know you can ask us for help any time, right?" Sheik asked. _I'm sorry I should have known._

Shadow's grin was cynical, but there was a brief flicker that suggested he was weighing what Sheik had said. He laughed, "No offense, but there wasn't much you could do aside from cheering us on through the Dark Mirror," he said, deflecting the question.

"And yet here we are, no longer divided across worlds."

Shadow Link grinned. "You can thank your Interlopers for that. They figured out a way, recently." He walked over to the pool of water that led back to the entrance of the underwater cave leading to Lake Hylia and dipped his boots in the water experimentally. While he stretched, Sheik looked at him with a quizzical tilt of his head.

"How did you learn about them anyway?" Sheik asked. He hadn't found much anything regarding the mysterious Sheikah defectors during his hunt for information the last week or so, and yet Shadow Link seemed to know quite a bit about them. If the Interlopers were anything like the Sheikah, then they would have made it difficult for any outsider to learn about them and their techniques: how did Shadow find out about them?

Shadow Link, who had been looking at the puddle of water while chewing the tip of his pointed cap uncertainly, finally decided to jump into the pool with a splash. He surfaced from the water, and flashed a bright smile at Sheik, who returned an exasperated look with water dripping from his face. "So it turns out," Shadow said, his grin widening, "Ravio and I are actually friends with one of them."

Sheik raised an eyebrow, his expression changing to one of shock.

Shadow Link waved for him to follow, snickering to himself at Sheik's surprise. "Come on, I'll fill you in while we get outta here. Hope you said your goodbyes, 'cause we're going to the Dark World."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There, how does your foot feel now?"

Vaati wiggled his foot, which was now free of the bandages that had been wrapped around it before. Amari's mother, who looked exactly like what he'd expect an older Amari to look like except a bit rounder on her cheeks and under her arms, had finally returned from her trip to restock on red potions. Next to her mother, Amari was watching the rescued Minish's reactions carefully, eagerly hoping that he was feeling better.

She couldn't help but notice that, despite Vaati throwing on a scowl to pretend to be annoyed by her mother, that cynical twist of his mouth had mellowed more than when she'd first met him three days ago. He seemed less irritable, and she couldn't put a finger on it but something about him had changed. He still had quite an attitude and didn't seem keen on conversation, but at least he wasn't sulking anymore. He'd even come out of his room to join her in dinner the night before, and this morning he'd been awake even before she was. It was late afternoon now, and she'd heard from Pazuu that he'd caught him practicing light walking obsessively in the mushroom groves all day long. From what she'd heard, Pazuu sounded a little jealous that the rescued Minish was apparently quite good at it now.

There was a sharp rap on the door, and they all looked up to see Terrari standing by the doorway. Amari tilted her head a little when she noticed Vaati hold his breath at the sight of the elder. Her mother ran hurriedly to the door and beckoned the elder inside.

"Oh my, Elder Terrari, I didn't realize you were going to pay us a visit! What can I do for you?" Amari's mother asked. She brushed the wrinkles out of her dress, nervous in the presence of a respected elder.

"Nothing, nothing, doctor relax! I simply wanted to visit Gufuu before he left," Terrari laughed, shaking his head in an attempt to get Amari's mother to stop fidgeting anxiously. His cane tapped the floor as he hobbled over to Vaati, who'd stiffened where he sat with his spine pressed against the back of his seat. "I know you're eager to leave, and I wanted to at least say my goodbyes before you left," he said to Vaati.

Vaati eyed Terrari uncomfortably, but he eventually replied with a mumbled, "Fine." He sunk into his chair and his shoulders relaxed a little, and from the way he glanced up at the elder from time to time, Terrari could tell that the boy wasn't unhappy about the unannounced visit.

"I don't even have tea prepared…" Amari's mother muttered, still worried about not being hospitable to the village's elder.

"On it mom!" Amari hopped to her feet and ran off towards the kitchen. She'd only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Terrari and Gufuu who were sitting in the clinic waiting room stiffly. Terrari had settled down on a chair across from Gufuu, close enough for conversation but an awkward distance away, like he wanted to talk but wasn't sure how. Likewise, Gufuu was staring straight ahead with occasional glances at the elder like he couldn't decide if he wanted to talk or wanted to be left alone.

Amari sighed inwardly. She knew stubborn types like these two, especially since she hung out with Pazuu a lot, and he was one of _the_ most stubborn Minish in the village. She grabbed her mother's wrist and dragged her away from the room with her to give Terrari and Gufuu some space for conversation.

With the two brothers alone, an uncomfortable quiet settled in the clinic waiting room. A few rooms away, the voices of Amari and her mother could be heard faintly. Terrari shifted his weight and he winced when his chair creaked loudly. Then, he finally found some courage to start conversation. "Heard you're a light walking master now!" he said enthusiastically, attempting to break the silence, "That's quite quick, boy. If we still had sages, you would have been a fine apprentice."

Vaati stirred, just barely raising his head to acknowledge Terrari's attempt at friendly conversation. He gave a small shrug, and then went back to staring in front of him with a bored expression on his face. In truth, he didn't really know how to act in front of Terrari anymore, and judging from the way the elder was awkwardly fumbling through attempts to be friendly, Terrari probably felt the same. Vaati thought back to their conversation the day before, and how he'd started crying uncontrollably for reasons he didn't quite understand. Embarrassing. Terrari probably wouldn't believe that they were related, but he wouldn't have been surprised if the elder wasn't at least a little suspicious now. Understandably, Terrari wanted to know more about him.

But there were too many things about him that Terrari was probably better off not knowing.

"Where did you plan to go, now that your foot is healed?" Terrari asked.

Vaati looked up again. A conversation about business, he could handle. At least it wasn't conversation just for the sake of having conversation. "Lorule castle," he said after a few second's thought. "There should be people there who know me, and I need to get as far away from this Tenzi as possible," he added. As loathe as he was to admit retreat, he couldn't risk another encounter with Tenzi again in his current state, and he needed help from people he could trust. Shadow Link and Ravio were his best bet, and based on the conversations he'd had with the two shades, he was most likely to find them at the castle.

"Friends in high places, too, hmm? You really are a mystery." Terrari absentmindedly stroked his beard. "All right," he said, "You should go meet the carriage runners at the overlook, and they'll take you to the next town over. They have the best sparrow fliers there who'll take you to the castle with a day's flight." He looked over to the clock hanging on the wall. "If you leave now you should be able to catch a carriage runner before they close for the day."

Vaati was looking at him now, his mouth hanging open slightly like he was trying to think of something to say. Not being able to find any words, he simply nodded and stood up from his chair. He shook his healed foot a little, and then took two steps towards the door.

He _was_ in a hurry to leave. He hadn't wanted to spend three days stuck in the Minish village when the Interlopers were still out there. Sheik still didn't know what had happened to him, and the way they'd parted…

He placed his paw on the doorknob.

"You're leaving already? _!_ "

Vaati sighed, and turned around to see Amari who'd returned with her mother, a tray of tea and cookies in her paws. Disappointment was written all across her face, and her ears drooped a little. Next to her, her mother asked him if he wouldn't consider remaining another night longer.

Strange. It was strange being surrounded by people who wanted him to stay, and not for any particular reason. He barely knew these people, and yet they wanted him to stay. He usually had the opposite effect on people.

"I have to," Vaati said sternly, but his conviction wavered at the last syllable. He was strangely torn, and he found that a part of him wanted to stay a little longer, despite the fact that before he'd wanted nothing more than to leave.

However, he hung onto his words and began to turn back to the door again. It was true, he _had_ to go. He didn't care for these Minish, and he had more important places to be. He didn't know who they were, and they didn't know him. How could he care for such people?

"You're welcome any time here."

His breath caught in his throat at the sound of Terrari's voice. The sudden rush of emotion that he'd been overwhelmed with the day before returned, the same feelings he'd had when he'd found out that his parents had, despite his assumption that they never cared about him, had never once stopped looking for him. They were feelings he thought he'd buried away, thoughts that he'd brushed aside as silly and inconvenient. Family… it meant nothing to him. He resented these thoughts for returning after thousands of years of being happily content in the company of unchained anger, and yet…

"… Thank you," he said, forcing his voice not to crack. He wasn't used to saying those words, and they felt strange on his tongue. Half of him was screaming to just open the door and leave this goddess forsaken place forever, but the other half urged him to stay, to say one more thing that needed to be said.

It was something he'd been struggling to find a way to say to Terrari since the moment he'd found out that he was his brother. His _brother._ Real family, alive.

He turned to Terrari, and for a moment it almost looked like the elder already knew what it was that Vaati wanted to say. "I…" he started, and then stopped.

He couldn't.

What was the point?

Maybe he'd thought, briefly, how things might have been different had the Hundred Year Door hadn't closed behind him and left him separated from his blood. Perhaps he'd entertained the thought of what it would have been like if he'd grown up with a younger brother, if he hadn't apprenticed under Ezlo, if he'd had a real family…

None of that mattered. He'd escaped a life of remaining as a pathetic creature no taller than a human's thumb, escaped a life of slaving away for them under the belief that everyone deserved help.

The only reason why he was being all sentimental was because he'd lost everything he'd gained. If he'd had all of his powers, he wouldn't even be speaking to these fools. If he'd only had the power of Wrath he wouldn't be worrying himself with any of these thoughts.

It didn't matter.

It didn't matter.

He found his voice again. "I… hope you find your brother one day," he said instead. His mouth twitched into a frown; his voice hadn't been as curt as he'd intended it to be.

For a moment, Terrari almost looked disappointed, like he'd been expecting Vaati to say something else. The expression was quickly replaced with the elder's usual, warm smile. "I do too," he said with a slow nod.

And with that, Vaati wrenched open the door and left without looking back.

Terrari watched the door swing closed, his red eyes soft and contemplating as he gazed at the empty space where Vaati had been. He noticed Amari and her mother looking at him in curious concern regarding what Vaati had said about his brother, and he waved a hand at them with a bright smile to let them know that there was nothing to worry about.

Terrari leaned back in his chair, breathing out a long sigh. It was like a weight he hadn't known was there had lifted off his chest, and he didn't realize he'd been with a heavy heart until now. He found himself reminiscing back to a time when he didn't have eyebrows that drooped past his nose, when his parents were still alive. He remembered his mother telling him how this time, _this_ time she'd found a way back to the Minish World. That _this_ time their family would all be together again.

He knew it was unlikely that the Gufuu who'd stumbled into their village was really his lost brother, but there was just something about him that reminded him of kin.

 _I hope you find your brother one day._

Terrari smiled to himself. _I do too, Gufuu, I do too._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati found the carriage runners near the entrance of the overlook that led out of the cave under Tenzi's shack. The carriage runners transported travelers to and from nearby villages, and they were Minish who pulled behind them two-seater wheeled carts for passengers. It was the first time Vaati had seen anything like it, mostly since the Forest Minish from the village he'd originally come from didn't tend to travel very often. He was skeptical at first, but was quickly impressed by how fast the runners were as they made their way along a dirt road that was carefully cleared of obstacles to the next town. Once or twice they had to hide from something large and snarling prowling about nearby, and Vaati understood then why Amari had insisted that he wait for his foot to heal before venturing out of town.

He looked up at the sky, and he realized that it was the first time since he'd arrived at the Dark World that he'd actually seen what the sky looked like.

It was yellow. Not a bright, blinding yellow, but the yellow that appears at dusk, just as the sun is setting and the sky is turning to twilight. Strangely, he couldn't see any sign of a sun in this world, regardless of the fact that it was much too bright out for it to be night. He leaned back in his seat while the carriage bumped along the road, and he continued to stare up at the sky in curious fascination, taking in its unusual colors that ranged from pale yellow to purple.

It was while he was looking up at the sky when he noticed a creature flying above them. It only took a few seconds for him to realize that it was following them.

"Hey," he said, catching the attention of the Minish pulling his cart, and he sat up straighter in attention. He squinted at the creature, a bird, flying above them. For a moment, Vaati forgot that he was small, and he panicked that the bird was a monster as large as the Helmaroc King. He quickly corrected his mistake, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized it was only as large as a small parrot, but he was still disconcerted by the fact that it was clearly following them.

The carriage runner noticed the bird, and Vaati didn't feel any better when they, too, appeared nervous by it. "Let's stop over-"

The runner didn't get to finish their sentence, because all of a sudden, the bird above folded its wings and pummeled towards them in a dive.

"Shit!"

Both Vaati and the carriage runner dove away from the cart and into the tall grass that lined the path. Vaati felt a strong gust whirl near him as the bird zipped past, grabbing the now-empty cart in its talons. In the turmoil, Vaati caught a blur of white and blue feathers as the bird flew off with the cart.

He caught sight of the carriage runner dashing off deeper into the grass, and he decided to do the same in case the bird decided to return. No sooner had he thought this, however, that he heard the sound of wood splintering not too far from where they were, and his eyes caught sight of a white feathery ball charging towards him from the sky

 _Light walk, I need to light walk now!_ Vaati thought, frantically finding something bright enough for him to melt into. It was too late, however, and he felt the scaly talons of the bird wrap around him and take him up into the air. He tried to squirm out of its grip and attempted to bite its toes, but the bird only chirped irritably and squeezed him even harder. Eventually, he gave up, and decided to conserve his energy and instead think about what was happening and what he could do about it.

A lot of his questions were answered when Tenzi's shack came back into view, and he realized that the bird was taking him back there. _Oh. Great. Just great._

" _Release me!_ " Vaati demanded, desperation creeping in to his voice, " _I know you understand what I'm saying, you stupid fat bird!"_

All Minish had the ability to converse with animals. Unfortunately for Vaati, he wasn't a very good conversationalist to begin with, and the white bird simply gave him an offended look with its beady red eyes and ignored him with a soft chirp.

In an afterthought, Vaati wondered if maybe he shouldn't have called it stupid and fat. He sometimes forgot that in his current state, he was the Sorcerer of Winds in name only.

They zipped through the window of the shack, and Vaati found himself once again in the familiar room that he'd first woken in, except this time there were two people waiting for him. The first he was sure was Tenzi. The man had a slender yet muscular build, and wore a close-fitting outfit that was similar to Sheik's except the colors were black and dark, faded purple. The only part of his outfit that hung loosely were the sleeves of the hood that draped over his head and shoulders, reminiscent of the wide sleeves often observed on mages. Blue symbols of rings that looked suspiciously like eyes were also on his clothes, including on both sides of the cowl that shadowed the man's face, which gave the hood the appearance of a bird-like head. Behind the cowl were red eyes he'd sworn he would never forget: this was indeed Tenzi.

To his surprise, he also recognized the second person there. He would have been distracted by the presence of Tenzi if it weren't for the fact that the second person in the room was someone he knew very, very well.

" _YOU-"_

 _THUD._

"Sheerow! Sheerow oh Din oh Din be _gentle to him!_ Goddesses." An individual in a purple, rabbit-hooded robe hurriedly shuffled over to where Vaati had been unceremoniously dropped mid-rant from the air by the bird, Sheerow. Ravio waved his hand in front of the tiny Minish who was furiously cursing obscenities at the positively smug Sheerow perched on the windowsill, but then recoiled when Vaati turned his anger back on to him. "Er… Master Vaati if you can just calm down-"

" _You?_! Ravio _you_ are working with… with…" Vaati's fingers shook in rage as he pointed at his kidnapper who was leaning against the wall, watching the exchange with interest. Vaati whirled around to momentarily glare at the man named Tenzi. The _accomplice_. The one who'd completely, utterly, ruined his life and… and…

"Hello," Tenzi lifted a hand in a half-hearted wave in response to the glare.

Vaati shot him a terrible snarl in return, and then turned his fury back to Ravio who was fidgeting uncomfortably. "You and Shadow betrayed me once," he said, his voice shaking and his lips pulled back in a twisted sneer as he referred back to the when the Shadow Links had betrayed him for Dethl, "and now you betray me _again?_ "

"It's not what it looks like!"

"I know exactly what this looks like!" the sorcerer shouted. He paced along the table that he'd been set down on, fuming as he did so. "Do you know," Vaati seethed, causing Ravio to back away a few steps nervously, "who this person _is?_ "

"Do you?"

Vaati's fingers clenched into fists at the voice, smooth and precise like a cold blade, but with an almost mocking undertone like he was being silently laughed at. His eyes twitching, he slowly looked over his shoulder at Tenzi, who was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He thought he could see the hint of a smirk playing beneath the mask that covered his face.

"I wasn't talking to you," Vaati hissed.

Tenzi shrugged, and he nodded to Ravio. "I think I liked him better when I didn't know he could talk."

"I am going to ki-"

"He's still kind of cute though, isn't he?"

Before Vaati could explode into a raving ball of anger, Ravio raised his voice. " _Everyone listen!_ " He cried, and then grimaced a little at the sound of his own voice. He clapped his hand once, signaling Sheerow to swoop down and pick an extremely angry Vaati over to the windowsill and pin him down under its foot. Meanwhile, Tenzi continued to look at Vaati fascinatedly. "Tenzi, if you can stop looking at Master Vaati like you want to pet him…"

"I'm not."

" _If he so much as touches me I'll bite all his fingers off."_

Ravio groaned, dragging his hands across his face in aggravation and pulling his hood over his eyes. "Look… just… just calm down and-"

" _You dare tell me to calm down when this-"_

 _Splat._

There was a moment of silence as Ravio walked over and gently smacked the sorcerer under Sheerow's foot under his hand. It wasn't something that hurt physically, in fact Ravio had been a little hesitant about it, but the fact that he'd gone and splatted him had been shock enough to Vaati that he instantly shut up.

Admittedly, Ravio had always kind of wanted to do that. Shadow Link was going to be jealous when he found out about this.

"Just… let us explain," Ravio said cautiously to the sorcerer, whose expression was currently trying to decide on whether to settle on shock or fury. He was somewhat relieved when it finally decided on 'sulking surprise' instead of 'unforgiving rage.' Ravio waved a hand slowly to indicate to Sheerow to let Vaati free from under its foot.

"You had better pray your explanation is a good one," Vaati eventually muttered, dragging himself up onto his feet and shooting one last glare at Sheerow before walking away to the other side of the windowsill. Then, he shot an equally burning glare at Ravio, who was beginning to regret splatting Vaati to shut him up. "My grudges tend to be legendary."

Something about the way Vaati said it suggested to Ravio that he was mostly referring to the fact that he'd squished him under his hand just now, rather than the fact that Vaati believed he was consorting with the enemy. He sighed. Oh well. The satisfaction had been worth it at least.

Speaking of legendary grudges…

"Would it be alright if we explain what's been going on while we travel?" he asked.

"Why?" Vaati snapped, still mistrustful of Tenzi and by extension, Ravio.

"Well uh, there's a chance this place isn't safe anymore and-"

"From _who?_ " Vaati interrupted impatiently.

"-Wouldn't you prefer to meet up with your Sheikah friend?"

Vaati turned on his heel, reflexively scowling at Tenzi, who'd boldly spoken over him where Ravio could not. The Minish-turned-sorcerer was about to shoot him another scorching remark, but then stopped when he noticed just what it was that Tenzi was saying. He blinked, and he turned to Ravio who confirmed with a nod.

Sheik? They could take him to Sheik?

Tenzi pushed himself off the wall and made for the door. "That sounds like a yes. Let's go."

"Who in Subrosia _is he?_ " Vaati hissed between his teeth at Ravio as soon as Tenzi was out the door. He grudgingly climbed onto Ravio's hand when the other made a motion to hurry up.

"His name's Tenzi," Ravio said quietly. He opened the door to follow Tenzi outside, only to find that the Interloper had disappeared. He gave a small, tired sigh: he was used to the sudden, unannounced disappearances of the shadow warrior.

"Yeah I figured out that much when he left a goddess damned apology note with his name signed on it," Vaati spat, "as if that would make the fact that he _fucking kidnapped me_ any better."

"That sounds like him," Ravio laughed, much to Vaati's annoyance. "Look, he's a good friend of mine. His methods are kind of brash… which is why he kidnapped you in the first place when that uh… admittedly probably wasn't necessary. See, he didn't realize uhhh… that you knew me and Shadow an um-"

"I was planning on killing you for your Triforce."

" _What._ "

"Tenzi…"

Ravio groaned, while Vaati's tail was completely fluffed up while he stared at Tenzi who was casually sitting up on the roof above, eavesdropping on the two of them.

"He should know all of the truth from me," Tenzi said simply upon noting Ravio's exasperated expression, "he won't trust me otherwise."

"First Dethl, and now him? You have spectacular choices in the people you associate yourself with, Ravio."

"Ravio told me about you after your capture, so I decided against killing you," Tenzi continued, jumping down from the roof to join them again. His fall was light and barely audible. Then, before Vaati knew what was going on, there were two knives aimed at both his and Ravio's throats. Ravio yelped and stumbled backwards while Vaati clung on to the boy's hood to keep from falling off his shoulder.

"You see, I could easily kill the both of you if I still wanted your Triforce," Tenzi said, ignoring the pointed glare from Vaati. The blades danced along his fingertips, and then they vanished out of sight. "But I will not, because Ravio is a friend, and you are a friend of his." He walked over and extended a hand out to Ravio who'd fallen onto the ground. As he helped him up, Tenzi kept his eyes on Vaati, his red gaze intense. "And because of that, I ask that you help us willingly, instead. Will you listen to what we have to say without further angry interruptions?"

Standing between the two of them, Ravio glanced nervously between Tenzi on his right and Vaati sitting on his shoulder to his left. It wasn't a good place to be: Tenzi was a good friend but, well, calling him 'assertive' was the nice way to say it, and Vaati was _Vaati_. He held his breath, waiting for Vaati to say something.

He held his breath for so long his face was becoming ashen.

"Fine," Vaati muttered eventually. He ignored Ravio's loud exhale of breath next to him. "You take me to Sheik, and start talking."

* * *

 _fleets_ : Tenzi gave me so many problems before I finally settled on a characterization I liked. I have to thank a few wonderful readers for their observations and input during a super-secret (not really) conversation for me to finally get him :D

Other than that I don't know how I feel about this chapter. It's kind of hard writing the romantic subplot when the two characters in question are dealing with other, more immediate problems in completely different locations. Haha oh well. Help me Tenzi be the trouble we need.

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Yay Shadow indeed! He didn't show for that long this time, but we'll see more soon(ish)!

 **AquilaMage:** Ahhhhh thank you so much I'm happy you liked it! He's still being a little stubborn, but I think Terrari understood him :')  
Shadow and Ravio have been busy ;)

 **Ai Star** : I'm excited to be able to write them again! :D  
I think Terrari understood, to some extent, though Vaati was stubborn about it to the end and never ended up telling him (shaking my head…). And ahhh thank you so much!

 **icfehr:** Haha whoa there slow down, let's not get carried away with assumptions here :)  
I haven't said that innate magic will get diluted with blood. If it helps, think of it like, if you were a Rito or a Zora or a Goron, you wouldn't become less Rito/Zora/Goron just because you're 5th generation rather than 1st (like… you wouldn't get less feathery as a Rito or less fishy as a Zora...). Same concept, just with magic. If you're Sheikah, you've got magic talent, at least in the world I'm writing about ;)  
With the light walking, it's not so much Vaati walking between worlds completely, but it's a similar ability to what Shadow Link can do in the light world (e.g. dipping in and out of shadows) but with light rather than shadow in this case. I hope that clears things up!

 **pickle** : First off, I love pickles and therefore I love your name. And yesss those keese totally do! (also ahhh thank you so much I cry)

 **plum:** Eeee thank you so much plum! I used to be adamantly against crying Vaati because I just couldn't find a scenario where he would, and then my own story just kind of surprised me with it haha. AND YES Shadow is back! He and Ravio have been very busy :) in the shadows (shot)

 **eureka93:** (waves) hey there! And ahh you put into words all those feelings so beautifully, I completely agree with you. Vaati's having a rough time…

 **Cutiecat:** No worries! And I'm so happy to hear I haven't scared you away yet if you've made it this far hahaha. And yes, his real name is Gufuu! It's only implied in the chapter, but he was in such traumatic shock that his earlier memories were forgotten (also he was quite young at the time). The people at the orphanage who took him in gave him his new name :)  
Ahhh your review is so sweet, thank you so much! I also saw your comic on tumblr and it was super adorable a;lksdjf I was gushing over it honestly it was embarrassing haha.


	14. Seekers of Truth

fleets: HAPPY AMERICA DAY. Because I updated on Canada Day, I figured I should also update on America Day too. Hurrah.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Seekers of Truth**

"Ravio. Ravio, are you all right?"

Vaati cautiously watched Tenzi from atop Ravio's shoulder as the Interloper placed a hand on Ravio uncertainly. The sorcerer was a little surprised to see genuine concern on Tenzi's face, and though he still mistrusted everything about him, the fact that him and Ravio were friends seemed to be the truth. The rabbit hooded boy blinked, and he nodded earnestly in response.

Tenzi, however, didn't seem convinced from the way his brow furrowed beneath his cowl. He observed Ravio some more, and then sighed and pulled back. "If you say so," he said, a hint of worry in his voice. "I apologize I pulled a knife on you, I got carried away," at this, his red eyes drifted towards the Minish on Ravio's shoulder almost accusingly, before turning back to his friend, "I forgot how you feel about knives after your encounter with the Nightmare… it was an insensitive thing to do."

"I-It's fine! I'm fine, I've gotten a lot better now. Don't worry about it Tenzi, really. Don't worry about me. Look, see, I'm okay?"

"Regardless, I am sorry. Also, if you ever need to stop while we're travelling let me know."

"Tenzi I'm fine! I don't… I don't want you guys to stop because… because I'm nervous or anything haha… I mean look at how much I've explored outside recently? I haven't died yet have I?"

"Don't force it Ravio."

"I uh… thank you."

A surprised look on his face, Vaati looked on at the conversation between Ravio and Tenzi in bewilderment. He looked at the back of Tenzi's head in front of them, to Ravio whose face was somewhat hidden by his rabbit hood, and then back to Tenzi again.

Vaati was utterly confused now. Tenzi _was_ the accomplice to the masked man who had attacked him at Hyrule Castle and had turned him into a Minish, and it was disconcerting to see him show sincere compassion and recognition of Ravio's extensive trauma. Vaati had seen the Shadow lookalike at his worst at the Palace of Winds, and while Ravio had come down a long road of recovery since then, he still carried scars, though Ravio himself disliked talking about them. If Tenzi knew about that, then there could be no doubt that Ravio really did consider him a trusted friend.

He didn't know why Ravio seemed to trust this suspicious man so much, but a considerable amount of time had passed since Ravio and Shadow had left for the Dark World, and Vaati didn't know everything that those two had been up to since then. Apparently they'd made some… questionable friends… during their adventuring.

After all, if Tenzi really was an ally, then why had he been helping the masked man?

Who was the masked man?

Vaati's eyes narrowed as he stared at Tenzi walking ahead of them, boring an imaginary hole in the Interloper's back with his gaze. _He'd also known I had the Triforce, and had wanted to kill me for it. What was he after?_

They started walking down the path leading away from the shack. From his vantage, Vaati could see a town about a thirty-minute walk away down the slope of the hill that they were on. Confirming Tenzi's earlier concerns, Ravio appeared incredibly nervous to walk more than ten feet away from the shed, and they had to stop for a few minutes before he managed to calm himself down and continue onwards. He held Sheerow in his hands, focusing on scratching the fluffy bird while Tenzi patiently led him forward.

"Your friend should have met with Shadow Link by now," Tenzi said, interrupting the questions swimming in Vaati's head. The warrior seemed to be making conversation more for Ravio's sake rather than to inform Vaati. "We'll be meeting them at the flatlands near Misery Mire south of here. We would have met here, if we could, but I observed signs of Sheikah near Thieves' Town, which is too close to my liking. And before you make any judgments, Thieves' Town isn't as nefarious as it sounds, and neither is Misery Mire. Whoever named them had awful taste in humor when it came to naming places," Tenzi added defensively, as though he had a personal issue with people taking offense to the names.

"Er…," Vaati hesitated. Tenzi was not at all what he expected him to be, and he found his wary resentment towards the Interloper slipping more towards confusion with every comment. He cleared his throat and started again, "I was more surprised that you said there were _Sheikah_ here."

At this, Tenzi turned back over his shoulder with a quizzical expression on his face. Then, he turned away with a barely noticeable sneer when he realized the source of Vaati's confusion. "Ha. I forget you call us _Interlopers_ ," he said pointedly. His voice was quiet. "We still consider ourselves Sheikah. True Sheikah."

 _Sheikah_.

The voice of the masked man resurfaced in Vaati's memories, and he couldn't help but notice how differently Tenzi spoke of the mysterious tribe's name. He remembered the way the masked man had looked at him when he spoke of the Sheikah, with deep creases etching into his skin and his red eyes cold like the steel of a blade. Where the masked man had regarded the name with bitterness and hate, Tenzi almost spoke the tribe's name with regret.

"Seekers of Truth," Tenzi continued. "Sheikah na Tenzeig. We used to be the same as those in your world. Both we, I suppose you can call us the Seekers as the masked man calls us, and your Sheikah, all pursue truth, in particular to seek and preserve the truth of Her Grace, Hylia. At least, we used to. There are few left who take the oath seriously now, either because they have chosen to forget or because resentment runs strong." He paused, slowing down to allow Ravio to catch up a little. "Since we're talking about this now, would you like to know our history, or would you rather interrogate me regarding other questions?"

Vaati had had a list of over a dozen questions he'd planned to demand from Tenzi, but he found himself at a loss of words while listening to the Interlo-… _Seeker_. Though he was still cautious, he found it difficult to hold onto the feeling of wanting to stab him with a knife.

He and Sheik had searched for the story of these Seekers for an entire week in one of the best stocked libraries in the kingdom, and had come up with nothing on their history. He was finally learning a part of their story, and he couldn't help but be curious. He set aside his anger for the moment, and instead (somewhat grudgingly) nodded wordlessly, motioning for Tenzi to continue.

"Unfortunately the Seekers and the Sheikah had different ideas when it came to pursuing and preserving truth. Your Sheikah understood it as their duty to protect the descendants of Hylia no matter what the cost. Seekers demanded we pursue truth even to extreme ends, and came to the conclusion that in order to fully grasp truth, we must be free of what they perceived as servitude from the Hylian royal family. The Seekers created an… abomination, then. Something to control the power of the goddesses themselves."

"The Fused Shadow?" Vaati interrupted, recalling what Impa had said about the mask the masked man had been wearing.

"Yes," Tenzi nodded, "It was arrogant of the Seekers to create such a thing, and I believe we were in the wrong. However, not all of us see it that way, and there are those who believe instead that we were betrayed by the royal family when they and the Sheikah banished us to the Dark World. I am sure the Sheikah in turn believe we betrayed them. This was hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and yet the resentment that lingers from back then is what has entangled all of us into crisis today."

The question that had been scratching at the back of Vaati's head, quietly at first, was now the only thing that he could think of. Everything he'd assumed to know about the masked man's accomplice wasn't adding up with what Tenzi was telling him. Tenzi kept phrasing his words in such a way as though to distance himself from the Seekers, and yet…

"Why did you attack Hyrule Castle with the masked man?"

Tenzi froze at Vaati's question, and Ravio almost bumped into him at the sudden stop. The Seeker slowly turned around with an unreadable expression and stared at Vaati, who was judging him with an intense gaze.

It was the big question.

Vaati doubted he would get a straight answer, but he was good at knowing when people were lying to him. He wasn't going to let Tenzi slip away from this question.

He needed to know why.

What was his motive?

Suddenly, Tenzi burst out laughing, much to his surprise and anger. Even worse, he felt Ravio's shoulders shake a little, until the rabbit hooded boy, too, was also laughing.

" _Is there something I should know?_ " Vaati asked pointedly, his whiskers bristling. There were few things he liked less than being laughed at. Before he went off in an angry tirade, Ravio spoke for the first time since they'd left the shack.

"Master Vaati," he said with a tiny smile, "Tenzi wasn't working with the masked man. He was trying to stop him when you ran into him at Hyrule Castle."

It took a moment for Vaati to fully make sense of what he'd just heard. His mind raced back to everything that had happened on that fateful night, trying to piece together this new information with what he already knew. He remembered encountering the masked man and following him to Zelda's room. He remembered how he'd fought with him, and then the masked man had disappeared through the window. He met up with Zelda, and then they encountered Tenzi, who had been running away from Impa.

"… What?" was all Vaati could manage.

Tenzi's mask wrinkled a little when he grinned. "That's a good look on you."

Vaati shrieked in rage, which only garnered more infuriating snickers from Tenzi.

"What Ravio says is true. I was there that night in order to stop him. Unfortunately, the princess's Sheikah guardian found me first."

He rounded on Ravio in seething rage. " _You couldn't tell me this before?!"_

"I only just found out about this three, four days ago, too" Ravio said with an apologetic shrug.

" _And you!"_ Vaati cried, turning back to the grinning Tenzi who seemed amused by the tiny, squeaking fluff of rage, " _This would have been a whole lot less complicated if you'd only explained yourself at the castle!"_

"My intention was to not involve Hyrule into our affairs," Tenzi replied. "Assuming responsibility for one kingdom is taxing enough. Assuming responsibility for the fate of two, impossible."

" _You kidnapped me._ "

"I did not know what you were, but I only knew that you carried the Triforce. My hope was to take it for myself so that I would be powerful enough to contest the Fused Shadow," Tenzi shook his head, and then began to walk down the path, coaxing Ravio along again. "I am sorry you assumed I was an accomplice."

Vaati gnashed his teeth together in frustration. He felt that he would have been less upset if Tenzi had admitted to being an accomplice to the masked man, especially since Tenzi's apology sounded mocking, like he was apologizing on Vaati's behalf for his ignorance. It felt like Tenzi was treating him like some kind of child who wouldn't understand what he was saying. However, Vaati didn't dwell on his irritation towards Tenzi too long, as he couldn't help but notice the edge in the Seeker's voice when he said the word 'accomplice.' It was serrated, dipped in venom. The layer of anger hiding beneath the façade of patience suggested that there was something personal between him and the masked man.

Tenzi answered Vaati's question before he asked it. "His name is Agunima. Ag Nimah, in the old Sheikah tongue." His voice lowered to a thoughtful murmur. "He was a close advisor to Princess Hilda. He-"

They didn't get to hear the rest of Tenzi's explanation regarding the masked man, because without warning shadow warrior suddenly held out a hand sharply, stopping them in their tracks. Ravio and Vaati stood frozen while Tenzi instinctively crouched low, and his eyes darted from side to side, surveying the field around them. Seeing him on edge like that made Vaati uneasy, and he, too, peered into their surroundings to search for whatever it was that had set Tenzi off.

It was getting late and the pale yellow sky was turning a darker shade of purple and black to transition to night. The shadows of the trees dotting the field had lengthened, and paranoia began to settle between them. The falling night was unfortunately working against them now, as it concealed pursuers from them.

It was eerily quiet. Not even the birds were chirping.

Ravio shuffled his feet nervously, and cracks of anxiety were beginning to show on his face - anxiety that he'd been trying so hard to hide until now. "What -" Ravio began, but he was immediately shushed by a finger held up to his face.

" _Shh!"_

Ravio obediently remained quiet for several more minutes, while Tenzi swept the area with his eyes. The warrior's shoulders were tense, ready to react at a moment's notice like a coiled snake, and his fingers hung close to his hips where he carried his knives.

Finally, after much squinting, Vaati saw something that Tenzi must have already noticed: they were difficult to detect, but there was something out there, about two hundred feet away, circling them.

No. It wasn't just one. Many.

"T-Tenzi?" Ravio asked again in a nervous whisper when Tenzi swerved off the road and began to move swiftly into the grass. He stumbled over his feet when Tenzi pulled him roughly by the arm to guide him.

"We're surrounded," Tenzi said shortly. "This way. _Hurry._ "

Tenzi. Tenzi, the one who'd been completely calm even as he'd faced Impa and Zelda at Hyrule Castle, sounded agitated. It was a worrying thought, and Vaati had a bad feeling that the things that were stalking them now were the Seekers associated to the masked man. Agunima.

 _Close advisor to Princess Hilda of Lorule…_

He wished he could have heard Tenzi's full explanation on who the masked man was, what he wanted, and how Tenzi was related to all of this. However…

Although Vaati still harbored some skepticism for Tenzi's relationship with Agunima and what Tenzi's own motivations were, he understood now that, at the very least, those two were enemies.

If that meant that there were a bunch of Sheikah-trained warriors hunting them now, it was a very, very bad situation for them.

Ravio, too, seemed to have the same thought as him. "Tenzi… how bad is it?" he asked, turning over his shoulder from time to time, trying to identify their enemies.

"We're fine."

Tenzi didn't sound fine.

"He's here, isn't he? I know that look on your face."

Vaati perked up. His ears twitched, and he positioned himself more to the edge of Ravio's shoulders to get a better look at their surroundings.

The masked man? He was here? Agunima was here?

Excitement bubbled in his chest as he frantically searched the dimming light for the tall, broad, imposing man he'd encountered in Zelda's room weeks before. Realistically, he wasn't in any position to fight him at all, but ever since that day he'd looked forward to meeting him again so that he could utterly destroy him.

He wasn't sure how he was going to destroy him as a Minish, or if it was even possible, but he'd dreamt of this every night until now. _Where are you, you bastard._

" _We're fine,"_ Tenzi repeated sternly to Ravio.

Suddenly, Ravio skidded to a halt, and Vaati was almost thrown off his shoulder by how abruptly he'd stopped. Tenzi turned around, his red eyes darting back and forth from their surroundings to the frowning Ravio with a look that was close to desperation. He reached for Ravio's arm again to drag him away, but the shade was stubborn and held his ground.

"Don't lie to me," Ravio said, determined. However, his voice held a strained tremor, betraying his fear. "I-I can handle the truth."

Tenzi waved a frantic arm at their surroundings, looking at Ravio in increasing frustration when the rabbit hooded boy continued to stand still. Ravio had begun to pet the small white bird in his hands; something he did when he was on the edge of a panic attack. "Ravio we don't have time-" Tenzi tried, his voice carrying strained patience. To his surprise, he was interrupted by Ravio.

"Sheerow." Ravio brought his companion close to his face. The tremor had left his words, and had been replaced with determination. "Take Master Vaati and go find Shadow."

"Hey wait a second," Vaati frowned, sitting up straight at the mention of his name.

"You have the best chance of making it out of here, Master Vaati," Ravio said plainly.

"I'm not leaving if that bastard who did this to me is here," Vaati argued. He tried turning to Tenzi for some help, but the shadow warrior's surprised expression from earlier had already settled to one of understanding. Tenzi avoided Vaati's gaze, and instead went back to watching the fields for Agunima's men.

Ignoring Vaati's protests, Ravio picked him up between his thumbs and dropped him on top of Sheerow's back. "You need to tell Shadow and Sheik what happened. Sheerow can guide you back to me when you find them."

" _I'm not leaving-"_

" _Go Sheerow._ "

Vaati was lifted into the air as Sheerow spread its wings and zipped into the sky. He cursed under his breath when he was almost thrown off of the bird's back, and then clung to the feathers around its neck to keep from falling. He wrenched his head over his shoulder, catching one last glimpse of Ravio and Tenzi before they quickly became nothing but small dots in the distance. He thought about ordering Sheerow to turn back, but in his gut he knew that Ravio was right.

Someone had to let Shadow and Sheik know. That someone had to be him.

Gritting his teeth, he turned back to focus on their destination ahead, instead.

 _Ravio, you fool…_

Ravio's anxiety attacks had been helped with the presence of his bird, Sheerow. For him to have sent him away with his companion bird, especially while he was surrounded by things that could send him into a panic again, Ravio was just asking for a mental breakdown.

And that was assuming they survived the encounter with those that hunted them in the first place. Seekers of Truth. Sheikah na Tenzeig.

 _You idiot, you better be okay when I come back,_ Vaati thought with a scowl.

He was so utterly useless right now, Vaati resented himself for it. All he was good for right now was at getting kidnapped, running away, getting kidnapped _again_ , and of course running away _again_.

Perhaps the only comfort he had for Ravio's fate was that Tenzi was with him, and though he still didn't trust him completely, the warrior seemed like a sincere friend to Ravio and a skilled fighter. He wasn't sure if Tenzi was skilled enough to be able to evade over a dozen Seekers, but it was the only good thing he could come up with.

To be honest, he knew that the odds were stacked against them as soon as he'd seen Tenzi's nervous agitation, which was partly why he'd resigned himself to listening to Ravio and escaping with Sheerow. If he could at least send for help in the form of Shadow and Sheik, maybe they had a sliver of a chance… He could tell that Tenzi had been staying as calm as he could for Ravio's sake, but beneath it all there had been raw panic.

And then a thought came to him. Vaati froze, his beady red eyes widening and he slowly turned his head back behind him to where he'd left Ravio and Tenzi.

Seekers of Truth.

Sheikah na Tenzeig.

 _Tenzeig?_

He only noticed it now, but the word was suspiciously similar to the shadow warrior's name. He would have thought nothing of it, if it weren't for the fact that he knew of another individual who had named themselves after the obscure tribe. Someone who used two names, for two different identities.

Someone he'd once mistaken Tenzi for, because their features had been so similar.

He recalled a conversation he'd had with Shadow and Ravio, and how they'd told him of a kingdom called Lorule that was uncannily similar to Hyrule. They'd told him of a princess who looked almost exactly like Princess Zelda of Hyrule, except with dark hair and red eyes rather than blond hair with blue.

Vaati blinked.

 _Tenzi, could he be…?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ravio gave a heavy sigh as soon as Vaati and Sheerow were out of sight. He'd mustered up all the courage he'd had to not go back on his word and send Master Vaati away on Sheerow, but now that they'd left he could feel that dark shadow of anxiety rising in his gut. At the time he'd felt brave, like he knew exactly what he needed to do. He'd almost felt like his old self, then, without being overwhelmed by, well, _everything._

The anxiety clawed at him. Crippled him. He began to wonder if he'd taken on more than he could ever handle.

He jumped when he finally realized that a hand had been shaking his shoulders for a while now, and he came face to face with Tenzi, who was looking into his eyes in concern. Ravio shook his head, and then forced himself to return a bright smile, and then boldly (but with shaking steps) began to head towards the direction Tenzi had been running to earlier.

Tenzi took the lead, gripping his arm firmly and pulled him quickly forward. The Seeker tried not to rush his distraught friend too much, afraid to send him into a panic attack, but time was unfortunately not something they could afford with enemies closing in on them quickly.

"Ravio."

Ravio looked up. He'd spaced out again, and he hadn't noticed that Tenzi had been calling his name several times already.

"Are you going to be all right without Sheerow?"

 _No._

He didn't tell Tenzi that, though.

"I can't… I can't always let Sh-Shadow be the hero, can I?" Ravio asked, attempting to laugh. It came out weak and forced. "Heroes always w-win though, don't they?"

All of a sudden, there was the sound of something shrieking through the air.

Something fast.

Tenzi whirled around and tackled him, and they both slammed into the ground but not a moment too soon. Nearby, there was a loud thud of something hitting the ground, and Ravio peered out from under Tenzi's arm to see that a weighted net had been launched at them, and was now spread over where they had been only seconds ago.

The good news was that Agunima apparently wanted to capture rather than kill.

The bad news was that his men were getting closer.

Ravio felt himself hoisted up onto his feet, but he found that he couldn't will himself to move. Darkness was closing in on him. Flashbacks. Tendrils. He looked down and saw black tendrils ensnaring him to the ground. They couldn't be real though… Dethl was gone. They're not real.

I can't move.

And then he was free. He was moving, but not with his own legs. Strong arms were hooked under his knees and he felt his arms thrown over someone's shoulders.

Tenzi was carrying him.

 _No. No we're too slow like this. We're not going to make it. We're not-_

"Ravio, the answer to your question?"

Ravio looked at Tenzi, his voice pulling him out of his thoughts. Tenzi wasn't as quick as he could be with the burden of carrying Ravio, but his speed was still impressive, continuing forward with sheer power of will.

"The answer is _yes_."

They pushed onwards, staying away from the path as that would make them more exposed, and Tenzi ran through the wild grass of the plains. Tenzi aimed towards the nearest village, Thieves' Town, in the hopes of being able to lose his pursuers there. It was a town that had once been home to infamous smugglers, and he knew a few passageways in and out of town that not many knew about. He doubted that he would be able to lose Agunima's men completely, but it would hopefully slow them down, and he didn't think Agunima was willing to commit to an attack in the middle of a town just yet.

The lights of the town were getting brighter. Just a little bit more. A little bit more and then…

Tenzi's expression hardened. Why hadn't anyone caught up to them yet? It was true that he was running as fast as he could, and he _could_ run quite fast even while carrying Ravio, but Agunima's men were fast as well and they had been closing in on them swiftly. He slowed down just enough to look over his shoulder.

No one was behind them.

 _Wait a second._

He dug his heels into the ground, forcing himself to slow down. Then, he made a sharp turn and started running back away from the village.

 _The village was a trap._

Almost on cue, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye again, shadows moving with him about a hundred feet away. They were closer than before, but they kept their distance. Close enough to let him know that they were there, but too far to see them clearly. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach.

They were corralling him like wolves would prey.

Tenzi ran harder anyway. He couldn't give up. Not now.

Eventually, he was forced to the edge of a tall cliff in the valley. Jagged rocks like lizalfos teeth lined the sheer drop off, which led down to a thin stream far below them. The figures were only fifty feet away from him now, and they had formed a half circle around him to trap him against the cliff. They stood with an even, calculated distance between each other.

Tenzi backed away slowly until his heels could feel the very edge of the cliff, and then he slowly set Ravio down next to him so that he could make sure his hands were free should he need to deflect an attack.

He didn't want to admit it, but there was nowhere they could run anymore.

Tenzi waited, staring out into the falling night with a dagger in one hand. His eyes strained into the darkened fields for movement. He was expecting someone.

Nothing happened for several long minutes. And then…

"You've led us on quite a hunt."

Tenzi's knuckles whitened around the dagger's hilt.

Following the voice, a figure emerged from the shadows in front of him, slowly coming into view with careful, measured steps. A heavy cloak swirled around the figure's feet like mercury, and although he walked like he could slip away into the darkness at any minute, the presence about him was like a thundercloud.

Tenzi only knew of one person who moved the way this person did, hunched low to hide their true intimidating height, large and muscular and yet surprisingly easy to miss when they didn't want to be noticed.

Agunima.

The man stopped just over an arm's length away from them. Tenzi held out a reassuring hand towards Ravio when the man raised his head, revealing the calculating crimson eyes of those with Sheikah blood. He wasn't wearing the Fused Shadow at the moment, but Tenzi knew that it was there, somewhere. He could sense the power of its crushing aura emanating from the man. "I am impressed. It seems I have trained you well," Agunima sneered, and his grin widened even more when he saw Tenzi glare at him.

A metallic gleam shone briefly when a dagger appeared in Agunima's hands. It danced between his taped fingers casually as he nodded and spoke a name.

"Princess Hilda."

"You won't take us alive," Tenzi hissed at the sound of his name. His _other_ name. The name he'd been forced to abandon in order to hide from the Seekers of Truth, but the ruse was up now. They knew who he was.

He jolted when he felt a timid tug of his sleeve. It was Ravio.

"T-Tenzi…" he stammered, his face hidden under his rabbit hood.

"We're going to be okay, Ravio," said quietly, trying to reassure him. He grimaced, knowing that it was a lie. He couldn't see any way out of this situation. Agunima had them cornered, and they had nowhere to run. They were also outnumbered, and it was impossible to win a fight against over a dozen of Agunima's warriors. While Tenzi had been trained in Sheikah arts, he didn't have his usual martial advantage because his opponents were trained the same way as he.

Tenzi was so sure that only defeat awaited them, that he was surprised when Ravio walked forward to step between him and the formidable Seeker leader.

They were shuffled, timid steps at first, and then they became bolder and more assertive, until Ravio was standing tall with his shoulders pulled back and his rabbit hood pulled up to reveal his blue-green eyes.

To everyone's shock, Ravio suddenly raised one hand into the air, summoning a bright sphere of light that eventually turned black like tar. The light solidified, revealing a bomb that was at least five feet wide in diameter.

Tenzi stared blankly at the bomb raised over their heads. _Ravio, what…?_

A light, almost bashfully uncertain and apologetic chuckle escaped Ravio. "I believe you," he said quietly, and before anyone could do anything, he threw the bomb straight towards Agunima and his men.

Everything happened so quickly, Tenzi didn't really know what happened next. He remembered seeing Agunima hesitate uncharacteristically, undecided on whether or not he should dive towards Ravio to take him out or run away from the incoming bomb. He remembered alarmed shouts from all around them as the Seekers waiting in the shadows began to flee from the explosive, and he also remembered his eyes meeting Agunima's one last time before the bomb's thunder-crack stunned him.

Falling. He was falling, pushed over the cliff by trembling arms that held onto him tightly around his waist. He couldn't hear anything, his ears deafened by the explosion, and he could see shards of rock and dirt flying over his head. Dust fell in his eyes.

And then just as suddenly, he wasn't falling anymore, at least not with lethal speed. There was a sudden jerk against his abdomen as his descent was abruptly interrupted. When he was able to catch his breath, he saw Ravio holding on to him tightly with one hand, while the other clung on to a green rod with a propeller spinning around it, slowing their descent.

By the time their feet safely touched the ground, both of them were shaking with adrenaline. Ravio collapsed to his knees, while Tenzi was hunched over, steadying himself against a nearby boulder. It was only because of the faint shouts high above them from the cliff that Tenzi pushed himself up, forcing his legs to stumble towards Ravio.

"Ravio. Ravio?" he coughed some dust that had gotten into his lungs. Ravio was curled up on the ground, hugging his knees and gently rocking himself with his head held tightly between his hands, trapped in some kind of a nightmare.

The ringing in Tenzi's ears distracted him, but he focused on his words. He needed to reach him somehow. He knew Agunima would find them again soon if they didn't get out while they had the chance. "Stay with me, we're almost there," he said.

Tenzi looked at him with a pained expression as he reached out, gently placing a hand on Ravio's shoulder. He remembered meeting Ravio for the first time: the rabbit hooded boy had come to the castle with his twin, Shadow. He remembered how much of a nervous wreck Ravio had been, trailing after Shadow Link and looking ready to bolt at a moment's notice. But then, as soon as he saw him, or rather Princess Hilda, he'd looked up. His eyes had stopped wandering, and he'd stepped boldly in front of Shadow with a brave smile on his face.

He remembered the bashfully uncertain, apologetic chuckle as Ravio introduced himself.

Ravio looked up slowly at Tenzi's touch. Somehow, he forced his panicked emotions down, hiding it with a cracked grin.

Bashfully uncertain and apologetic.

 _You're still the same._

Tenzi reached down and picked up the tornado rod that Ravio had dropped and handed it back to him. Then, he lifted him up onto his back and began to carry him once again to find somewhere safe. He ignored the pain in his left shoulder, perhaps from some debris hitting him from the explosion, and stumbled forward.

"Everything's going to be okay. We're almost there," he repeated, while Ravio found his voice again.

His words came out rushed, words running over each other as he pulled his hood further over his eyes. He was so distracted that he forgot to use the name Tenzi, instead using the Seeker's other, secret name.

"I-I'm sorry Princess Hilda. I thought we could h-help you. I th-thought I would be okay w-without Sheerow. I can't even walk. Y-you're carrying me. I'm-"

"You fought well," Tenzi shushed him, and the sound of water trickling down the stream near them drowned out Ravio's anxious sobs.

For all his insistence that he was a coward, he didn't give himself enough credit for his bravery.

* * *

 _fleets_ : ok I'm sure like… eighty percent of my reader-base knew that Tenzi is actually Hilda because I'm horrible at keeping secrets ( _I actually drew a picture of a very obvious Tenzi=Hilda picture before I even started this story and posted it on tumblr because I'm A Fool)._

Anyways. I can officially introduce PRINCESS HILDA! (dance) What do you guys think? :)

Also if there are any readers who have experience in weapons-related PTSD and aren't averse to sharing personal experiences, I would love to hear them (you can shoot me a PM here or on my tumblr at thewishingcap) for writing-related research. I only know one person personally who suffers from severe war PTSD, but it's not a comprehensive picture for me to confidently write Soulbound!Ravio who also suffers from it. I'm trying my best with the limited knowledge that I know, so definitely call out anything that doesn't sound right regarding Ravio's experiences.

Her/Tenzi's personality might be a little different than what you might expect from ALBW. I guess you can say any offensively different difference can be due to the fact that Lorule isn't in pieces in this verse, whereas it was kind of falling apart everywhere in canon (shrugs). Same with Ravio. Soulbound Ravio has gone through a lot of different things than ALBW Ravio. I'll do my best not to make them diverge too much, but it might be difficult because their histories are very, very different.

Also we finally have a name for the villain. I didn't pick the name arbitrarily, and he's _not_ Aghanim. There was a villain called Agunima in one of the Oracles games, and there's some talk suggesting he was supposed to be Aghanim. I took this vagueness and made Agunima the Dark-World equivalent to Light World Aghanim. If you recall, Aghanim was an alter ego to Ganon. Ganon's Dark World equivalent is Yuga, who (I don't remember if it's canon, but I headcanon it, heh) is Hilda's advisor. THERE'S MY CONVOLUTED LOGIC.

Please don't be confused that Agunima = Yuga at this point, however. My logic at name-picking kind of ends there (and Agunima himself has like. Literally no background in the Oracle games. He's a very generic boss who has the same attacks as Aghanim).

Regarding the translation of Sheikah = Seeker, I pulled that from zeldawiki (basically if you change the Romanized Japanese "Sheikah" it can also be the same as "Seeker." Nothing complicated there).

Ffff there was a LOT in this chapter. I'm actually not sure if I like my pacing right now. I'm usually confident about my story pacing, but there are so many angles I feel like I need to cover with this story that it's… well, it's tricky (Tenzi and Ravio kind of took over the entire chapter this time). Let me know if anything ever feels off, and I'll try and keep that in mind for future chapters! :)

 **Ai Star:** What a short lived reunion haha OTL  
Ahhhh I hope writer's block leaves you alone soon! I personally find music or drawing helps, or playing some inspirational LoZ games

 **plum:** Shadow's coming up next chapter! And yessss that's the best reaction I could hope for regarding the little twist, thank you so much for the review! (heart hearts)

 **Cutiecat:** I wonder if your opinion of Tenzi changed any with this chapter (or maybe it's the same?) ;)  
FFFF well I'll leave it to you to decide if Ravio/Tenzi/Hildavio is going to be a thing in this story but uhhh YEAH I'll leave it at that hahaha. I actually thought about your comment regarding the knife and Ravio's ptsd and decided to make a few changes based around it. I was insensitive like Tenzi D:  
(thank you so much for your review! It gave me a lot of good ideas :) )

Vaati probably would leave anyways. Sometimes I feel like he throws away chances of happiness because he's too proud to admit that he can let himself be happy around people who care about him D:

 **icfehr:** Errr well I wouldn't assume that either haha… Like, I wouldn't necessarily say that many Hylians can just up and use magic. I personally don't consider Hylians = Sheikah, so what applies to Sheikah doesn't necessarily apply to Hylians. Not important to the story, but my personal headcanon is that the few Hylians who are magic sensitive are all female, whereas that restriction doesn't apply to Sheikah.

That actually sounds like a neat story idea :) (the one with random magic kid)  
Thanks so much for being such a loyal reader icfehr! Always enjoy reading your comments :D

 **pickle:** I HOPE TO continue to punch people in the feels so that they can suffer with me. You're welcome :D


	15. Ambush

fleets: thanks to everyone for such enthusiastic responses for the last chapter! it makes the writing experience one hundred million times better (much heart. much heart)

Unrelatedly, I started another VaaSheik story called Over the Desert Sands. I'll be updating that story sporadically while I complete Soulbound :)

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Ambush**

"Princess Hilda?"

"Eeyup."

"The one who kidnapped Vaati is _Princess_ _Hilda?_ "

"Pretty much!"

Of all the things Sheik had heard from Shadow Link so far, this was perhaps the most startling bit of information. In his surprise he'd stopped walking, and then he quickly caught up with Shadow Link again as they made their way across the Hyrule plains towards the Eastern Woods of Faron. Sheik noted to himself that it was the exact direction the Interloper, now revealed to have been the Princess of Lorule herself, had escaped to three days ago. "And she's the Interloper who I encountered at the castle a few weeks ago," Sheik said slowly, still in disbelief.

Shadow Link was enjoying Sheik's incredulity, and he looked over his shoulder with a snicker. "Goes by the name Tenzi right now, but yeah," he added with a wink, "Apparently named themselves after the Sheikah tribe, too, like someone I know? The 'Interlopers' call themselves Sheikah na Tenzeig, or whatever however y'all pronounce that. Guess where the name 'Tenzi' came from."

Sheik frowned, and looked at Shadow flatly while the shade giggled and continued to lead the way.

"I wasn't messing when I said you and Hilda are really, _really_ similar, yeah? Adorable."

As they made their way through the travel-worn path that cut across the field towards the woods, Sheik thought back on everything Shadow had told him about the situation so far, putting it together with what he knew himself. According to Shadow, the person behind the attack on Hyrule as well as the chaos happening in Lorule, Agunima as he was called, had been Princess Hilda's advisor and guardian.

No one had suspected anything from him, but things had changed when he'd somehow obtained the Lorulean Triforce of Power. Lorule, like Hyrule, had their own Triforce, and while Wisdom was always passed down the royal bloodline, Power and Courage simply manifested in those who were deemed the most worthy to carry them. It was with bitter irony that Power had been gifted to someone who had revealed himself to have twisted ambitions…

Once it was known that Agunima had gained Power, dozens of other Interlopers, or 'Seekers of Truth,' had appeared, running around Lorule like they had been biding their time, waiting for something like this to happen. With the power of his newly gained Triforce, he'd managed to free a forbidden, sealed artifact called the Fused Shadow, which could forcefully control and steal the life force (or Triforce) of any living creature. The Seekers would have succeeded in assassinating Princess Hilda and passing it off as an accident if Ravio hadn't chanced upon Agunima at the castle, conspiring with his subordinates to kill her to steal her Triforce of Wisdom. From what Ravio had discovered, they were planning on stealing Wisdom and Power, and force Courage to manifest so they could steal that as well: the difficulty was in having Courage appear.

That is, until they found a rift connecting the Dark World to the Light, where they knew that the Princess of Hyrule would also have a Triforce piece. It had been Shadow and Ravio to come across the first of the rifts that connected the two worlds during their explorations, and Agunima's spies had found out about it through them.

Whatever it was that they were planning, Agunima and his Seekers didn't need Power, Wisdom, and _Courage_ specifically. They only needed three sources of enormous power in any combination, so that Power, Wisdom, and Wisdom would work just fine as well. That was when their target had suddenly shifted to Zelda, who was much easier to find than their remaining possibilities of Triforce holders.

Three Triforce pieces together… Sheik had to admit that it was a frightening thought. During his search in the castle library, he'd read about the legends that spoke of what would happen should three Triforce pieces come together.

One piece alone was a power that was a fraction of the goddesses. All three, equivalent.

Whoever had that much power would be able to do anything, change the physical laws of the world, even. They would have the power of creation, to grant any wish they desired. Anything, no matter how impossible it seemed.

"So Hilda, Tenzi, was at the castle that night to stop Agunima from reaching me?" Sheik asked. They were at the edge of the eastern forest now. Sheik remembered the countless times he had gone back and forth through the brambles in order to find Tenzi's path.

"Yup," Shadow answered. He led them through the trees, the surrounding light becoming darker as they walked further into the forest.

"But then why did Tenzi kidnap Vaati instead of telling us about this threat?"

Shadow's grin disappeared from his face, and for the first time he looked a little uncomfortable by the question. His shadowy hat, which Sheik had found to reflect the shade's mood, curled in on itself like a person might wring their hands together nervously. "Uhmmm, okay so you're not going to like this, but once Tenzi found out that you went halfsies with Master Vaati on your Triforce, he decided it'd be easier if he just. Kind of. You know…" Shadow waved his hands helplessly under Sheik's patient gaze. With a grimace, he gave up trying to find a milder word and dropped his hands against his sides, "Killed him for his half and used its power combined with his Wisdom piece to beat Agunima?"

The two of them stopped walking, with Shadow turned around to see how Sheik was going to react to this information, while the Sheikah in question was staring back silently. Shadow already knew that this wasn't going to go over Sheik very well, knowing how protective he was for people he considered friends. The doppelganger would have preferred it if Sheik had said something in response, rather than pinning him to the spot with that unnerving gaze.

"Look, look, before you decide Tenzi's the bad guy, you gotta know that he didn't know that ya'll were friends with us, yeah?" Shadow rambled defensively in an attempt to talk away Sheik's pointed stare. He added, "He also thought Master Vaati was some kind of exotic rat at that point."

It took a few more long seconds, but there was some movement on Sheik's face, to which Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. Sheik frowned slightly in disapproval, and he broke the stare, though his red eyes were a little narrowed and his nose was crinkled in the beginnings of a snarl. "Just to be clear, I'm only helping because I'm _your_ friend, not 'Tenzi's' or 'Hilda's,' understand? That, and I have a personal score to settle with the Seekers," Sheik said, a hint of a thorn in his voice.

Shadow Link's usual grin reappeared on his face again now that the awkward part of the conversation was over and done with, and they began to walk deeper into the woods once more. Sheik still seemed annoyed upon finding out that Tenzi had meant to (and almost succeeded) in killing Vaati, but Shadow was confident that he would eventually come to like Tenzi, too. "You're pissed. Okay," he said with a shrug, "But just give 'em a chance, they're actually real nice and they try real hard to keep Lorule tame. Princess Hilda's been super keen on meeting you ever since we told her about ya, and when she found out that there's a Sheik to her Tenzi, man, I don't even know," he shook his head, chuckling at the memory, "Like I told you before, me n' Ravio didn't even know there _was_ a Tenzi until four or so days ago so we never said anything about a Sheik. Her face was so priceless when we finally told her though. I'm telling ya, Princess Hilda's your biggest fan, so I'm asking as a friend here: be nice to 'em."

Sheik's listened to Shadow's prattle, his expression like stone and betraying little emotion behind his cowl, but it softened just a little upon hearing Tenzi's opinion of him. He was still annoyed that Tenzi had dared to try and kill Vaati, though 'annoyed' was perhaps too mild a term. The thought twisted and gripped his throat, like the time when the sorcerer had almost… had _actually_ died.

At the same time, however, he found himself feeling sympathetic to the Princess who was like his mirror half. He fought the feeling, wanting to remain annoyed at the fact that Hilda had outright tried to kill one of his closest friends, but ultimately he gave in. He understood her curiosity of Zelda, Tenzi's curiosity of Sheik: he knew all too well how isolating it could be to bear the weight of the crown, to believe that no one could possibly understand what it was like. He knew what it was like to be forced to make the kind of decisions that kept him up all night, wondering if he'd done the right thing or if he should have done something different.

And he knew what it was like to believe that you had to bear the weight of a kingdom's worth of problems alone.

Shadow Link slowed at the foot of a rocky incline in the woods. A stream gurgled nearby, and the leaves were damp beneath their boots. Sheik remembered this place, too, during his long searches for Tenzi after the Seeker had disappeared with Vaati, but he hadn't been able to find any clues as to where they had gone. He finally received answers when Shadow circled one of the large boulders that had fallen from the hill, and then leaned down to roll over a smaller stone beside it. Flipping it over revealed a narrow hole just wide enough for a person, and a ladder that led down into the darkness.

Shadow motioned for Sheik to follow, and then disappeared down the hole. Sheik paused briefly at the entrance, and looked behind him one last time. This was possibly the last time he was going to see the Light World for a while.

He lifted his hand up to his neck, and then felt beneath the scarf that covered his face until he came upon a necklace that had been hidden by the cloth. There were two sets of stone hanging from the thread: a clear blue stone, and the red one that Vaati had given to him on the night where everything had gone wrong.

His fingers lingered a little on the red stone, a faint smile on his face as he imagined the sorcerer's snarky quip about how they should have listened to him about not throwing such a large party for the princess's birthday. _"Next time just you and me. I'll treat you."_

 _If there is a next time._

The smile vanished, and his expression steeled. Then, he let go of the red stone and curled his fingers around the blue one. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes as warmth spread from his palms and the blue stone began to glow. He brought it close to his lips, making sure his message would be heard.

"Impa, I'm leaving for the Dark World with Shadow Link. I found a lead." There was the slightest hesitation in his voice, which he hoped Impa wouldn't catch, but deep down he knew too well that she would pick up on it. "I'll be okay."

Another pause, and he let go of the blue stone from his hold and the light around it dimmed. The words 'I promise,' had caught at his throat, and he hadn't been able to bring himself to say them.

Because right now, as he lowered himself down the ladder, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be coming back.

He hoped his feeling was wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was a rift at the bottom of the pit, a scar that cut across the air, twisting it so that it shimmered and distorted the surroundings near it. Beyond it was the same murky atmosphere that reminded Sheik of the Dark Mirror.

Sheik didn't remember much of what had happened when he'd crossed the rift into the Dark World. With Shadow's prompting and reassurance, he'd reached out and touched where the air was torn, and then he'd been thrown to the other side. He vaguely recalled the unpleasant feeling of being tossed around in a whirlwind, as well as the feeling of being stretched and compressed in ways that shouldn't have been possible.

He was on the other side now. He would have thought more about the properties of the rift if he wasn't so preoccupied by the nauseous sensation that overwhelmed him. It was like his insides, his very soul, was pulling itself apart, trying to escape the Dark World to return to where it belonged in the Light. He steadied himself on his knees, while Shadow Link walked over and knelt down in front of him. "You'll get used to it," he said.

Sheik opened his mouth for a retort, but then closed it and opted to simply return a nod when he felt another wave of queasiness.

While waiting for Sheik to get used to the Dark World, Shadow stood up and walked over to light a small round orb that was embedded in the wall of the pit. It glowed white, lighting up the surroundings and revealing a pit that was similar to the one they had left. The rift crackled, and the light disappeared into its scar as though it were being sucked into the world on the other side.

"If we'd never found this, you guys wouldn't have been caught up in this mess."

As Shadow had promised earlier, the nauseous feeling, though still there, was beginning to be less of a bother as time passed. Sheik stood up slowly, and turned his head towards Shadow who was looking at the rift with a regretful smile on his face. Sheik recognized that look: Shadow joked and smiled, but too often it was to hide his real, more painful emotions. "Someone else would have found it if you hadn't," Sheik replied. He walked over to join Shadow by the rift. "Was this always here? I wonder why it suddenly appeared."

Shadow nodded. "Hilda said that there was evidence of attempts to link the two worlds before, hundreds of years ago. These rifts opened where the divide between the worlds were weakened from these attempts."

There was something about the way Shadow said it that suggested that there was more to this than he was letting on. Sheik tilted his head questioningly, and when Shadow flashed a disarming grin and tried to shrug Sheik's question away, the Sheikah's brows furrowed even more in concern. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Shadow threw his head back and laughed, but Sheik was quick to recognize the subtle, forced edge in his voice. "Hahaha! Nothing ever gets past you and Master Vaati, huh?" Shadow chuckled. He turned around and hurriedly made his way towards the ladder that led out of the pit, as though he wanted to get away from the rift as soon as possible. He explained with a mumble as he climbed up. "Hilda thinks it has something to do with overusing the Dark Mirror."

Sheik's eyes widened slightly as he followed Shadow up the ladder. _So that's it…_

"Dethl kind of uh… well, you know all those… _me_ copies they made. It made the already weak rifts unstable."

Sheik's expression darkened. He remembered the hundreds of Shadow Links at the Palace of Winds, each one spawned from the Dark Mirror because of Dethl's twisted idea of entertainment. Each one, an individual Shadow Link, as much the 'original' as the other. He remembered the nightmarish chase through the Palace of Winds when the hundreds of Shadow Links had helped him escape Dethl, but more than anything he remembered the desolation he returned to when he'd come back to rescue him.

The Shadow that was with him now and Ravio had been the only survivors out of the hundreds that had been spawned by the mirror, all of them victims to the nightmare creature's torture. Ravio had barely survived, and he was still burdened with deep, emotional scars from the time he'd spent at the Palace. Shadow pretended he was fine for Ravio's sake, but Sheik knew that he wasn't as unaffected by it as he pretended to be.

The blond could already guess that Shadow believed his own existence was responsible for the rift. "If you're thinking that this is your fault somehow-" Sheik began, but was cut off abruptly by Shadow, proving his suspicions had been correct.

"It kind of _is_ ," Shadow snapped, no longer able to keep up his fake cheer, "Who released Dethl in the first place, huh? I should never have repaired that mirror."

As they crawled out of the pit, Sheik was welcomed with a forest similar to the one in the Light World. The trees here were polished and smooth rather than rough, and they were stained a blackish purple tint. A pale yellow sky that was darkening into a deeper black of twilight seeped through the leaves above. The Sheikah sped up after Shadow Link who had hurried off, upset.

"You're right. It is your fault all of this happened," Sheik called after him loudly once he'd caught up to him.

The bluntness caused Shadow to stop, and he slowly turned around and looked at him, his blue eyes wide and hurt. Before Shadow could say anything, Sheik continued.

"And it's my fault also because releasing Dethl never would have been possible if I hadn't sided with Twinrova to keep Vaati alive."

Shadow's look of surprise slowly morphed into confusion. His nose scrunched and his head began to tilt, while Sheik pushed past him and kept walking in the direction that Shadow had been going. "But that's-"

"Ridiculous?"

"Er…" Shadow hesitated under Sheik's stern gaze. He scratched his head, and then began to walk slowly forwards to lead the way once again. "Guess we wouldn't be talking to each other, even, if I hadn't fucked up, huh?" he asked with a murmured chuckle.

Sheik gave him a small, reassuring pat on the back as they continued onward towards their destination. There was a barely audible sigh, and he absentmindedly pulled his scarf further over his face. "What's done is done," he said quietly, "Let's just think about what we're going to do about it."

They walked in silence for a while, the only sounds the crackling of the fallen twigs breaking under their steps, and the soft wail of the wind rushing past the branches above. Shadow glanced at Sheik a few times, looking like he wanted to ask something, but unable to bring himself to. The rueful way the Sheikah had spoken made him think that Sheik had been talking more to himself than to Shadow, and he recalled how Ravio had told him about the desperate deed Sheik had done to save Master Vaati. With everything else that had been going on, Shadow hadn't been able to ask Sheik about the consequence of splitting the Triforce, and how he was dealing with it. It had only been days ago when Ravio had tackled him, distressed and blubbering about how he'd completely messed everything up by letting Vaati find out about the true cost of sharing the Triforce. Vaati had been furious…

 _Hope this reunion isn't going to be too awkward…_ , Shadow thought.

"Shadow, what's this stone?"

"Huh?" Shadow turned around to see that Sheik had fallen behind to stop in front of a large, moss covered stone about three feet tall. It had a smooth, rectangular face, almost like it had been shaped that way, and it was half-hidden behind the roots of a tree. A circular mark that had the semblance of an eye was carved into it, and Shadow would have missed it if it weren't for Sheik's keen eye. "Oh, you find those everywhere around here. I dunno, never thought much of them."

"They're like Gossip Stones." Sheik's shoulders were beginning to tense, and his voice was strained. Seeing him like that made Shadow nervous.

"Eh?"

"Gossip Stones," Sheik repeated, placing a hand over the carved surface. "Have you ever seen the stones with the Sheikah eye back in Hyrule?"

Shadow vaguely remembered the strange, carved stones that Sheik was talking about. He'd passed by a few in Hyrule fields and around Lake Hylia. He always thought they looked a little creepy. "Yeah, what about them? And hey, now that you mention it, that marking looks kinda like the one on Tenzi's outfit," he said, peering over Sheik's shoulder at the stone with the circular marks. Without warning, he was almost knocked over by Sheik, who'd turned around abruptly and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him away. Shadow wrenched himself free from the Sheikah's grip, and then started running after Sheik who'd begun to bolt away from the stone. "Hey, what's wrong?"

" _We have to get out of here. Now."_

"Wh-" Shadow began to ask, but before he could finish, something brushed past his head, accompanied with a loud ' _Thock_ ' right by his ear. He turned around to see a dagger stuck in the trunk of a tree, dangerously close to where his head had been. " _What the shit?_ " he exclaimed, before he was hastily pulled away by Sheik once again, urging him to keep running.

 _Agunima's Seekers._

"How did they find us so fast? _!_ "

" _Run_."

They ran as fast as they could through the trees, ignoring the stray branches that whipped across their faces and the twigs that scratched at their ankles. Shadow heard the rustle of leaves behind them, and caught a glimpse of a figure moving quickly through the forest towards them. A distant snap of branches alerted him to even more of them in the woods.

"Sheikah use Gossip Stones to find out what's happening around Hyrule," Sheik explained between his panting breaths as he ran as fast as he could. "The Lorule Seekers are using something similar. If we're near those stones, they can find out where we are."

Shadow paled. "You're joking. Ravio and I tried to be careful but we didn't know about the stones. I'm not even sure Tenzi knows about them… he would have told us…" He ducked just in time to dodge another thrown kunai that almost hit his neck. If they were being chased by Agunima's Seekers, then they were in a really bad spot. Few people could successfully evade the legendary shadow tribe; they were a race who specialized in tracking and assassination.

He had Sheik on his side, but what was one person against several on their tail?

The forest was getting brighter up ahead. A clearing. Shadow wondered for a moment if it was a good idea to run straight out of cover where their pursuers would better see them, but then he realized what it was that Sheik was aiming for; Sheik had keener eyes than he did, and as they got closer he saw that it wasn't just any clearing, but a tall cliff that cut through the forest. He could hear the roar of a powerful river nearby, and he determined that it was running below the cliff that split the forest.

As they approached the cliff, Shadow saw a rope bridge linking the two sides together, about fifty feet or so to their right. If they could make it across that and cut the bridge, they might have a chance…

They dashed towards the bridge, faster now that they were out of the trees and in the tall grass that grew along the edge of the cliff. They were almost there. Just a little more and they could make it across to the other side.

Suddenly, Sheik stumbled over a root that had been hidden in the grass, the lack of rest these last few days catching up to him. Shadow had already reached the edge of the bridge, and he turned around to go back for his friend. However, as he started running back for him, Sheik shouted at him to keep going, and in the same moment a flurry of needles came flying towards Shadow from within the forest. Shadow Link dodged most of them, but he winced when a few hit his shoulder and his sides; they had been aimed for his head and neck, and it was clear that these Seekers wanted him dead.

All of the lethal attacks so far had been directed towards him, not Sheik. Perhaps the Sheikah had realized this as well, because he yelled at him to keep running even as he was overwhelmed by a group of Seekers who'd finally caught up to them.

" _Sheik!"_ Shadow yelled, frozen where he stood, trying to run back for him but stopped by the Sheikah's insistence to keep running. He saw a Seeker rushing him, daggers drawn in both hands and closing the distance between them with frightening speed. He could see their red eyes flashing behind their black cowl as they lunged towards him. Hating himself for his helplessness, he gritted his teeth and, with one last shout from Sheik to run, he turned around and began sprinting across the bridge. Without warning, his foothold became unstable, and he turned to see that Sheik had momentarily twisted free from the Seekers who pinned him down to throw a dagger at the bridge. The blade had cut the rope holding the bridge together.

Shadow was almost across the bridge when it began to fall, swinging down towards the thundering river below. He frantically continued to run, clamoring up the last few feet across as the bridge collapsed, and he dove for the cliff edge on the other side. As he turned around to look behind him, his eyes met those of the Seeker who'd run after him, and as they fell he saw a brief flicker of horror before they steeled and they slammed their foot down on one of the loose planks of the bridge. They couldn't reach him, but with one last effort they threw their last daggers towards Shadow before falling into the water. Their determination was frightening.

Shadow avoided the Seeker's daggers, and then wrenched his attention back towards Sheik who was no longer conscious. Two Seekers were quickly binding his hands behind his back as well as tying a gag over his mouth so he wouldn't be able to shout or cast spells. A third prowled the edge of the cliff on the other side where the bridge had fallen, gauging how to cross and reach Shadow.

He had to save Sheik somehow. _Had to_. But how? They were dragging Sheik away back to the forest. He couldn't stop them.

A grappling hook appeared in the third Seeker's hands.

He had to keep running.

With great effort, Shadow forced himself to turn around, to listen to Sheik's last words to him to keep running. Images of a white palace, infected with an oozing black creature with pupiless eyes flashed in his head, along with the horrifying memory of the hundreds of copies of himself being torn apart while still alive. Within that horrific memory of endless darkness, he clung on to the one with light. A hope. He saw the princess, saw Sheik, standing there with hands outstretched with Vaati behind him.

 _You… you came back for me…_

 _I promised, didn't I?_

He doubled his speed. He needed to find Tenzi and Ravio. He couldn't help Sheik alone, but maybe with the three of them they could do something.

 _You came back for me once,_ he thought, speeding away from where he'd left Sheik although it pained him to do so.

 _This time I'll come back for you._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been about half an hour since Vaati had left Tenzi and Ravio in order to recruit help. Night had fallen, and he couldn't see much of the fields below in the darkness except for the occasional torchlight that flickered along the paths. He wondered if Sheerow would really be able to find Shadow Link in this darkness, but the bird flew onwards and with purpose, like it knew exactly where it needed to go.

From what Tenzi had told him, Sheik would be with Shadow Link. Vaati chewed on his lip as he thought about the Sheikah, and now that the prospect of actually reuniting was becoming likely, he was feeling conflicted. On one hand, he was relieved that he could let Sheik know that he was fine. He just knew that the blond would have been worried sick, and knowing Sheik, he could imagine him doing something foolish in his efforts to get him back. If there was anything that Vaati hated more, it was to have others do something stupid on his behalf.

Which led to the other fact that, the last time they'd spoken, it had been _exactly_ about how Sheik had done something stupid on his behalf. Soulbound. Sheik could have let him die, to follow the natural order of things, but he'd broken one of the cardinal rules of magic and had brought him back to life at the risk of Sheik's own. The fool had condemned him to die again, or to live just to see Sheik die instead.

Vaati was still furious about it.

Would they even be able to have a normal conversation at this point?

What would he even say to him?

And then there was the heavy weight of guilt that he'd been ignoring for the last week. He'd refused to think about it, but it was still there, and the closer he got to reuniting with Sheik again the harder it became to ignore it. The wounded look on Sheik's face as he'd declared that he would have rather died than to be brought back, still a Minish…

For a second the notion of apologizing occurred to him, but he angrily shoved the thought aside. Him? _Apologize?_ He'd done nothing wrong. The very idea that he'd been pushed into a corner of feeling bad enough that he felt the need to apologize to rid the feeling…

No, the very idea that he simply felt _bad about something_ , offended him.

But the look on Sheik's face like he'd slapped him.

The words soon after that had sounded suspiciously like a… like a confession…

The Minish ignored the startled chirp from Sheerow when his paws gripped their neck feathers a little too tightly. _I don't want to meet Sheik._

He couldn't.

He _physically couldn't._

Without warning, Sheerow folded its wings and dove, and just as suddenly veered straight up into the sky to do a fancy loop. It almost caused Vaati to lose his balance and fall, and he shot an angry glare at the bird when he thought he heard it titter. Sheerow's beady eyes swiveled towards Vaati briefly, as though to say "that's what you get," for tugging at its feathers earlier.

Vaati was about to answer with a cold threat, but then he noticed that Sheerow was still diving towards the ground. It was then that he saw that they were making their way towards a figure stumbling forwards on the path below, their back bent over from being out of breath but still forcing their feet to drag themselves onwards. Vaati recognized the curl of the figure's black, triangular hat. "Shadow Link!" he shouted.

Shadow looked up at the voice, and a lump formed in Vaati's throat when he saw Shadow Link's gaunt expression like he'd just done something horrible. Sheik was nowhere in sight, despite the fact that he was supposed to be with Shadow. Something was wrong.

"Master Vaati?" Shadow gasped, voice rattling and hoarse from exhaustion. There was a hopeful flicker of a smile on his face, before it quickly reverted to one of fearful nerves. Shadow looked around wildly in the direction where Vaati had come from. "Where are Tenzi and Ravio?"

"They were surrounded by Agunima and his men. They need your help."

Shadow froze. The color drained from his cheeks and he wondered blankly if this wasn't one of Dethl's nightmares.

Vaati stood up from where he'd been sitting atop Sheerow's back upon seeing Shadow's stricken expression. "Where is Sheik?" he asked sharply, and his uneasiness increased when he saw that Shadow's right shoulder was bleeding from a Seeker's needle. "I was told he was with you."

Shadow turned his head away, not able to meet Vaati's gaze. He found difficulty finding the words. "He got caught by the Seekers," he said quietly. He flinched with the Minish suddenly rounded on him, seething and his teeth bared.

"And you _left him behind?!"_

"No! That's not..." Shadow backed away from Vaati, and he found himself rambling. The same question had haunted him his entire run away from the woods. "It happened so fast, there were so many of them. I was going to find Tenzi and Ravio for help. I couldn't do anything alone!"

Vaati leaned back, giving Shadow some space. His fury directed at Shadow Link diminished a little, but his tail twitched, and his frown was disdainful and disappointed. "Where is he?" he asked slowly, voice cold and dangerous.

Shadow's eyes widened in surprise when he understood what it was that Vaati was planning. He stared at the small, thumb-sized creature sitting atop Ravio's fluffy white bird, and tried to figure out if he'd misheard him. "We can't help him like this. They'll kill us," Shadow said, voice hushed in disbelief.

This only seemed to enrage Vaati further. " _Shadow where is he?"_ the Minish snapped.

Shadow opened his mouth to protest, and then gave up with a sigh. He knew Vaati wasn't going to drop it until he told him what he wanted. "… The edge of the woods by Turtle Rock over in that direction." He pointed his finger back in the direction he'd come from. His head was lowered, uncertain whether or not he was sending Vaati to his death; he was well acquainted with how dangerously reckless his old master could be, and though in the past he couldn't care less if Vaati went ahead and got himself killed, he considered him to be one of his good friends now. If Vaati went and did something stupid, then part of the blame would fall on him. He hesitated, unsure if he wanted to give the sorcerer more specific detail of where he'd lost Sheik. He hoped Vaati wouldn't ask.

Unfortunately, Vaati was too sharp not to see when Shadow Link was withholding something from him. His glare intensified, and Shadow sighed defeatedly.

"There's a broken bridge across a ravine that cuts through the woods. They caught him near there," Shadow Link mumbled. "There's a cave near those woods that I scouted a while ago. It's along the river if you follow it. I think the Seekers might be using it as one of their hideouts, so there's a chance they took him there."

There were a few seconds of silence where Vaati continued to pin Shadow to the spot with his intimidating glare, while Shadow himself stared at the grass below his feet, seemingly upset with himself.

Judging that Shadow was telling the truth and had told him everything he could, Vaati nodded to himself and tapped Sheerow with his foot, causing the bird to fly a little higher. "Good. I'm going to get him back," he declared.

Shadow Link's head shot up, and he gawked. He was about to blurt that Vaati was going to be up against a den full of trained shadow warriors, each as skilled as Sheik, and as a tiny little Minish no less. Shadow Link would be the first to admit that Master Vaati was impressive and dangerous if the sorcerer had all of his powers, but in his current state…

Vaati was about three inches tall and would die if someone sat on him. He didn't _actually_ think he could save Sheik, did he?

Still, Shadow shut his mouth and decided not to bring that up to his old master. Arguing with Vaati when he had that stubborn glint in his eyes was fruitless.

"Go find Tenzi and Ravio. They could use the help."

This time, Shadow Link did protest. It was one thing for Vaati to go do something stupid on his own, quite another to suggest Shadow do the same. "But you said the Seekers might have caught them too. How am I going to-" he began, but he was quickly cut off by Vaati.

"Once I find their base, I'll send Sheerow back for you so the bird can lead you to Tenzi and Ravio."

"That's not what I meant-"

"I'm saving Sheik because you didn't have the backbone to. Tenzi and Ravio might have made it out alive," Vaati said harshly, and his blunt words caused Shadow to grimace. "The least you can do is find out if they are."

And with that, Vaati ordered Sheerow to fly in the direction that Shadow had run away from, leaving the other alone and utterly stunned by what had just happened.

A part of him wondered if he shouldn't have tried harder to stop him, but it was easier said than done, as the fact that Vaati had once been his master made it difficult to outright oppose him. Vaati was going to get himself stranded in the Seeker's base at best, killed at worst. There was no way he would be able to rescue Sheik. No fucking way…

 _I'm such an idiot. I should have stopped him._

At the same time, there was something about the confidence Vaati carried that almost made you believe that whatever he said he was going to do, he could get done. Although this was part of the reason why Vaati tended to be so reckless and impulsive, oftentimes not thinking through plans and rushing headfirst into something without considering the consequences, it was admittedly something Shadow had respected from the beginning. Vaati didn't care if his opponents were the goddesses themselves - if he wanted to fight them, he would fight them and flip his fingers at them, too.

He wanted to believe that Vaati really could do something and save Sheik.

And if Vaati, who'd been reduced to some kind of small mousey creature could boldly walk headfirst into a cave full of Sheikah trained warriors, then he had no business running away.

"I…" Shadow sighed, and then clenched his fists and began running towards Misery Mire where he was originally supposed to meet up with Tenzi's group. Hopefully when Sheerow caught up to him after dropping Vaati off, they wouldn't be too far away from where Tenzi and Ravio were. "I won't let you down, Master."

 _For everyone else's sake, too._

* * *

fleets: mmm not much to say. I guess this is kind of a transitional chapter? the other title for this chapter is 'let the bad times keep coming'

 **1006aknox:** ahhhh oh my gosh thank you so much I'm so flattered (cries). And your name definitely sounds familiar! :D hi! I hope you're well! I'm sorry I kind of abandoned deviantart, but I'm so so so happy to hear that you were able to find me on tumblr! It's really nice to hear from people who've been with me a while back (I always kind of assume people moved on, so I'm just. Always so surprised when I hear they stayed a;sdfkj). Thank you so much for the message ahhhhhh

 **icfehr:** Uhhhh to be honest I never thought that far haha sooo I. Have no Idea. I guess I can always throw my hands up in the air and scream something about legends being super inaccurate (shrug? SHRUG? sweatdrop). Speaking of Majora and FD, I always wanted more gods to show up in the Zelda universe and how they all fit together. Like, Zephos and Cyclos from WW were pretty neat, and that giant catfish (Jabun?), but we don't really find out what their deal is.  
fffff I am super excited for BotW because I'm really hoping for more Sheikah lore. They're a bag of mysteries. And it makes me super happy to hear that you didn't see the Tenzi/Hilda connection! I wasn't sure how obvious it was until the last chapter, but now I'm glad I decided to make it an actual reveal :D

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Hmmmm, cute wasn't the word I was aiming for, since his anxiety comes from a messed up history with Dethl. Maybe I need to rethink his presentation a little if that's what people are getting from him… (I want to show that he gets panic attacks and is incredibly anxious without Sheerow to ground him. Normally he's 'fine').  
Ahhh I'm so sorry but yes you'll probably get spoilers. I am incapable of keeping my big flappy mouth shut regarding story aspects I'm excited about, and they usually end up being the plot twists. If it's any consolation, the Tenzi 'reveal' wasn't something I'd counted on as being a 'huge' reveal, since I'd also dropped several hints in earlier chapters about who he was, which observant readers would probably pick up on. Desert Sands might be difficult for me not to run off with huge spoilers though… I'll try my best though

 **Grey Noise:** Well it wasn't originally planned to be a 'big' reveal. A reveal, but not a big one (until I started hearing comments from readers that suggested that some people hadn't figured it out on their own. That's when I started thinking that maybe I should hype it up a little in the reveal chapter itself). I did throw hints from his first appearance about his real identity, but if there were any readers who didn't piece it together I figured I owed it to them to give them an actual reveal chapter (also from the point of view of the characters in the story, like Vaati, they didn't figure it out until the last chapter and I had to write it from their perspective of being surprised). :) I'm glad to hear you caught on to the hints that I dropped about Tenzi! As much as I like to surprise readers, I also like to know when they catch the breadcrumbs (or just. I don't know. loaves of bread, depending on how obvious it is haha) I leave behind :D

 **Ai Star:** Hearing that brings me joy because boy do I just love surprising readers :D  
Good luck with your job hunting, and congrats on graduating! Time to celebrate :D

 **AquilaMage:** Vaati is very intolerant to being laughed at xD  
And ahhh hahaha I just had to. Tenzi is an utter dorkasaurus like Zelda and I just. There was no way I couldn't put that in somewhere.  
And I know I've told you this before, but I'm so happy you like Ravio's portrayal so far! I was so unsure of him before, because he's a little different in Chapter 13 than the mischievous salesman that's depicted in the games. I want to show that while he's perfectly capable of functioning without being a nervous wreck, his anxiety attacks do have specific triggers and when they come, they're awful (I don't want people to take away from this that he's just a stuttering mess 24/7. though now I'm getting ahead of myself and talking about things that haven't happened yet… anyways yes I love writing Ravio and I'm ecstatic that you like him so far!).

 **plum:** (I love your reactions oh my god they make me laugh every time I'm sorry hahaha)  
YES BAD (because you're going to keep adding more ships for me to like and I'm currently standing on at least. like. 4 ships in the same story and counting and. I don't think I have a shipyard big enough to hold that many ships my dude. help.)

 **Cutiecat:** I was so convinced everyone knew Tenzi=Hilda and they were going to be so bored last chapter, so I'm stoked you didn't make the connection until Ch 13! As for what to call them, 'Seekers' would work :)  
Last chapter was a detour with Tenzi and Ravio, and this one was more Shadow and Sheik, but I want to tentatively say that we'll go back to Vaati really, really soon ;)  
And haha ahh I'm really sorry about the spoilers on tumblr. I have trouble keeping my yap shut (I try. And I fail. But I try).


	16. Sorcerer

_fleets_ : I promised I'll update this today, so here it is :)

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Sorcerer**

Sheik woke with his face pressed against cold stone, and a dull ache in his limbs. He tried to sit up, but found difficulty in doing so when he found that his hands were tied tightly together behind his back with thick ropes. He felt a weight around his ankles, and looking down he saw that his left leg had been locked into a chain attached to the floor. He couldn't speak, because of a cloth tied around his mouth to prevent him from being able to cast any spells that could potentially help him escape.

His captors had taken precautions.

With some difficulty, he managed to push himself up in a sitting position so that he could take a look at his surroundings. From the rocky walls that appeared to have been dug out naturally, it appeared that he was in a cave of some sort, and he could hear the trickle of water running not too far from where he was. Metal bars had been installed to serve as a cage for prisoners like himself, though some of the bones left in the corner suggested that it may have also been used to keep animals trapped here as well. Judging from the footsteps that echoed in the distance, there seemed to be several 'rooms' in this cavern base, and as he listened carefully, he thought he could hear at least four guards patrolling in the area. Undoubtedly there were more.

 _I wonder if Shadow made it out okay_ , he thought. The last moments he remembered had been chaotic. He remembered figuring out that the Seekers were trying to take him alive, while trying to eliminate Shadow Link. No doubt they wanted to capture him for his Triforce piece, while Shadow was a nuisance to get rid of. He remembered the feeling of dread when he realized that they weren't going to be able to outrun the Seekers, and had therefore switched his focus in getting Shadow out of there the best he could. Two of their pursuers had ended up overwhelming him, but he'd managed to twist out just enough to throw one of his daggers to cut the rope that held the bridge together.

He'd been knocked out before he'd gotten to see Shadow make it to the other side of the bridge.

 _He's fine…_ , he told himself, _He's tougher than most. He's escaped worse than this. He's fine._

He worried for Shadow, but his own situation was pressing as well. The Seekers were keeping him alive because he had a Triforce, but when Agunima arrived, they were going to kill him for it. He didn't know how much time he had before Agunima's arrival, but he didn't want to count on having a lot.

Sheik tried to wiggle his wrists to see if there was any way of getting out of them, and then stopped when he noticed that they were tied in such a way that the more he pulled at them, the tighter they became. Frowning, he went through all of the tricks he knew from Impa to get himself out of imprisonment situations, but he couldn't think of anything that would get him out of his current predicament. It was to be expected; he was up against those with Sheikah training, and they would know all the tricks he could have possibly used.

He'd even been stripped of all the weapons and items he'd had on him, concealed ones included, and he could see them hanging on the wall on the other side of the bars. His heart sank when he saw that they'd recognized his necklace was enchanted, and had taken that away as well. The necklace was hanging on the wall along with the other items, and both the blue and red stones were covered by a thick cloth, which Sheik judged had skulltula thread, often used to block magic.

It had been Sheik's last sliver of hope that his captors wouldn't think to cover the stones. If Impa had thought to contact him with it, she would have been able to identify his location but not if it was covered with magic dampening cloth like that. As for Vaati's, well…

He doubted it would even work since Vaati had been completely stripped of magic. Unfortunate, since he really could have used the help right now.

What was the enchantment again? Tekesuta… reku? Not that it mattered anyway.

Sudden movement caught his eye, and Sheik backed up against the wall, unsure of what to expect. However, his eyes widened and he almost gave a muffled shout through the cloth bound tightly around his face when he recognized just what, or who, he was looking at.

A creature about the size of his thumb scurried along the floor, stopping by the shadows and looking over its shoulder from time to time in order to keep an eye out for anyone who might catch sight if it.

For a brief second, Sheik wondered if the enchantment of the necklace had actually worked, because there was no mistaking it: Vaati had come for him.

Preoccupied by something behind him, Vaati didn't seem to notice Sheik at first. The Minish kept looking back at the room's entrance, his tail twitching impatiently. After a few seconds, a white and blue bird that Sheik recognized as Sheerow waddled into view. The two small creatures exchanged what looked like a minor squabble, and Sheik heard a few pieces of conversation with Vaati telling Sheerow to leave, while the bird remained where it was, fluffing up stubbornly.

"You're going to follow me until I find Sheik? I only needed you to take me to this cave. Go back to Shadow. He needs your help finding Ravio."

"Cheep."

" _Of course I know what I'm doing I don't need a chaperone._ "

"Cheep."

Despite the circumstances, Sheik couldn't help but snicker at the exchange. He was filled with relief that Vaati was fine, and fine enough to have an argument with a small bird. His chuckles interrupted their argument, and the two finally noticed him tied up near the wall. Sheerow looked from Vaati to Sheik, and then back to Vaati again. With a small chirp, it seemed to be satisfied and left with a purpose to its steps, scurrying out the entrance and being careful not to get caught.

Meanwhile, Vaati remained standing where he was, staring at Sheik with a look of disbelief on his face, like a part of him hadn't actually expected to find him here. Sheik could almost feel the surprise wash over with relief even before he saw the tenseness leave the corner of Vaati's eyes, a reminder of their burdensome connection.

The Minish's ears pricked at the distant sound of patrolling footsteps, and his expression steeled once more with that familiar determination. Vaati ran quickly over to where Sheik was being held captive, sliding between the bars of the prison easily with his small frame. He studied the locked chains around the Sheikah's ankles, and then ran around to look at the ropes that bound his wrists together behind his back.

The entire time, neither of them said a word: Sheik because he was unable to, while Vaati…

It was partly because he didn't want to call attention of the patrolling Seekers, but Sheik knew that there was more to it than that. He didn't need to be Soulbound to see that there was a wall between them, and it was awkward. Vaati wasn't meeting his gaze, and was instead focused intently on everything else _but_ him. They'd been trying so hard to find each other, but when they finally succeeded it was, well, they didn't really know what to say. Their last conversation hadn't exactly gone well, and they hadn't had the opportunity to mend the rift between them since then. Vaati had been angry, was _still_ angry.

But… no, that wasn't it. The wall, it wasn't because of that. The wall wasn't like cold stone that had been dropped between them with finality, the kind of walls that are left when discussions end in anger. It was more like a suffocating fog, with both sides wanting to find a way past it, but pulling away when they got too close to the cloud. The fog kept them from speaking, it made them turn away. They tried to ignore it, but in doing so it only allowed the wall to thicken.

The last time they'd seen each other, they'd both said things that had been more personal than anything they'd ever said to anyone. And though Vaati had tried to hide it with anger, there had been fear, too. How do you talk to someone again after all that emotion?

A small glow along the wall brought Sheik out of his thoughts. Vaati was nowhere to be found, but instead there was a soft ball of light that melted near the torch-light near the weapons hanging along the wall. It moved slowly up along the wall, and then, suddenly, rematerialized into the purple garbed Minish. Just before Vaati fell back down to the ground, his tail flicked one of the smaller daggers off of the hook on the wall and he caught it in his paws.

Confused, Sheik tried to make sense of what Vaati had done. It reminded him a little of Shadow Link's ability to melt in and out of shadows, though in Vaati's case it was with light. Vaati noticed him staring in shock, and for the first time since they'd reunited their eyes met.

Sheik wasn't sure if it was his breath or Vaati's that caught in his throat, the whole Soulbound situation making ownership of feelings very confusing in general. Maybe it was both, he couldn't tell. There was a very visible pause from Vaati as he clutched the dagger in his paws, and his expression was like one who'd just made a mistake.

Sheik expected the tiny sorcerer to reset his expression to his usual scowl, so he was surprised when it instead turned into a small smile. It was hesitant at first, and then settled into a more familiar, snarky one. "I picked up a few things," he said.

It was still broken and flimsy, but it was a bridge over the suffocating wall between them. Sheik had never expected Vaati to be the one to try to break the wall first, knowing how proud he was. Vaati disappeared behind him with the dagger before he could react. He felt a tug on his wrist as Vaati began to cut the ropes binding his wrist. "I'm getting you out of here," Sheik heard Vaati mumble from somewhere behind him, eager to change the subject, "Can you cut the chain around your ankle with magic?"

Sheik nodded. Once his hands were free and he could remove the cloth over his face, he would be able to summon a burst of light magic that should be able to cut through the metal chain. The only problem with that was the possibility of attracting the attention of the Seeker patrols outside.

And then there was the issue of getting out of the prison cell. Sheik could use Farore's Wind to teleport to the other side of the bars, but he knew that using a loud, gusting spell like that would _definitely_ alert the Seekers outside. He hoped Vaati had a plan that went beyond springing him from his cell, but knowing Vaati, he had a feeling that the sorcerer was improvising as he went along. It was amazing that he'd even made it this far.

Sheik could feel the ropes beginning to loosen around his wrist. _Just a little more._

Suddenly, they heard voices very close to them, just rounding the corner of the corridor outside the prison room. Sheik could feel the dagger cutting his ropes speed up, with Vaati redoubling his efforts.

"… starting to feel uneasy about all of this."

"Why?"

One male. One female. The voices became clearer as they approached.

"… promised to right the wrongs of the past, and to take back the world that's rightfully ours. But I don't know, something about that just-."

There was a pause in the conversation, and Sheik could imagine some vague hand waving by the first male speaker. The second, female, replied sharply.

"Talk like that and you might disappear. Fa'el Ag Nimah will take your doubt in him as an insult."

"I know…"

 _Fa'el. Grandmaster,_ Sheik recalled the ancient Sheikah title that Impa had once mentioned to him. _And it seems that at least some of the Seekers are having doubts._

The footsteps approached until finally, two Seekers came into view. Both were wearing the same kind of clothes that Tenzi had been wearing, with a dark hood and mask that covered their face completely save for their red eyes, and a form hugging uniform painted with the mark of blue rings that looked like an eye. Rather than continue down the corridor, they seemed to have some kind of business with him, and they stepped into the prison room. They didn't speak to him at first, and instead carefully looked around the room as though to check for anything suspicious.

Behind him, Sheik could feel the ropes around his wrist loosen completely, and he felt the rough touch of the cloth grip of a dagger drop into his hands. He took hold of it tightly. He felt Vaati climb up his arm and hide on his shoulder.

The Seeker woman walked over to the wall where they had hung his belongings. Sheik had a bad feeling when he saw her point to each dagger on the wall and begin counting. Her finger paused just where the last one should have been, and then she whirled around to her partner. "One of his dagger's missing," she said sharply. "Search him."

 _Damn it, they're thorough._

The male peered into his cell, and then slowly reached for the key hooked to his waist. The door shrieked open from rust, and he walked inside cautiously with his dagger drawn.

It happened in a flash. As soon as the Seeker guard was close enough, Sheik jumped to his feet and lunged forward with his dagger. The Seeker had expected it, but Sheik was too fast and the man was felled when the blade slashed across his throat. The second Seeker, however, was quick as well, and was instantly on the prisoner with a blade of her own aimed at his shoulder, her goal to incapacitate rather than kill. Sheik swerved to dodge, but in doing so she caught him off balance and kicked him down to the ground. Their blades clashed as she went to stab his right shoulder again. Their hands shook, Sheik pushing back against the dagger aimed towards him while the Seeker fought to land a blow.

" _Help!"_ The Seeker shouted, calling for others.

Suddenly, Vaati dashed up along Sheik's arm and leapt towards the Seeker. He bit down hard on her fingers, causing her let go of her weapon. Sheik took the opening and silenced her swiftly with a blade between her eyes.

"Drop your weapon and get on your knees."

Sheik backed away towards the wall, as far as the chain around his ankles would allow him to go. Six more Seekers had come running into the room. Sweat rolled down his nose, mixing red with the blood spattered across his face. He readjusted his grip on his dagger. "You can't kill me," he said.

It was a weak, desperate thing to say, and he knew it. He knew the Seekers knew it.

"We have ways to damage your spine so that you'll be alive without being able to move. We can cut off all of your fingers and shatter your legs. _Trahyir_ , not being able to kill you is not a problem for us. It may be a problem for you, if you make it," the leading Seeker, replied, unimpressed. "I'll only say this once more: drop your weapon."

Sheik glared at the Seekers, his nose wrinkled into a snarl. Then, reluctantly, he dropped his weapon and held both hands up over his head.

"Kick it over," the Seeker ordered. Then, he turned to one of the others beside him. "And search the room. I saw a small rat near him right when we got here. It could have been helping him."

 _They are not going to lay their hands on Vaati._

Sheik glanced at the dagger on the floor that the Seeker ordered for him to kick their way. Then, he looked towards one of the Seekers that had begun to search the room to find where Vaati may have gone. With a swift kick, he launched the dagger on the floor towards the searching Seeker, and it connected with the back of their head, felling him.

"Bastard!"

Sheik was tackled to the ground by two more shadow warriors, while the three that remained ran inside, making sure Vaati didn't escape in the commotion. One of them caught sight of a glow of light that was sneaking around the walls by the torches. Immediately, they blew out the fire, forcing Vaati's light walking to fail and rematerialize. The Minish squeaked angrily in protest when he was caught by swift hands.

It was over.

"Chain him up again. Both arms and legs, lock him up this time, no ropes. Keep him in one piece for now. Let Fa'el judge him when he arrives."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati struggled in vain to escape the grip of his captor. He twisted and pulled to break free from their grasp, but they only tightened their hold on him, making it difficult to breathe. With one last attempt, he tried gnawing away at their fingers, but this only prompted them to squeeze harder at his throat until he was on the verge of passing out. This wasn't what he'd planned to happen when he'd come to the cave to rescue Sheik.

Well, truth be told he hadn't actually had a plan at all. His rescue plan had basically been along the lines of 'making it up as he went along,' and generally assuming that things would be okay.

In retrospect it probably hadn't been the brightest of ideas, but he'd been sick of not being able to do anything except sit by and watch as things happened around him. He was used to taking action, to be able to change outcomes on his own initiative. When he'd heard that Sheik had been captured by the Seekers, he had to do something. He'd thought, perhaps foolishly, that this time, _this time_ he'd be able to do something other than run away.

He'd gotten pretty far, too. Sheerow's tracking abilities had been incredible, and as much as that bird annoyed him with their sassy little attitude, he'd been impressed by how quickly they'd ended up locating where Sheik was. If only the Seeker patrol hadn't decided to check in on Sheik when they did…

No. No, who was he fooling? The reality was that things probably wouldn't have ended much differently regardless of whether the Seeker patrol had arrived or not. Who was he fooling, to think that he could ever make a difference the way he was now? The Minish were not a race that could do anything on their own…

They were not movers of history. All they could do, at best, was to provide support for other races to change the world. The Minish were insignificant… powerless…

He was powerless.

"What should I do about this thing?" the Seeker holding him asked.

Another Seeker walked over to look at the tiny Minish who was trapped in the other's grip. They studied Vaati for some time, trying to figure out what he was, while Vaati returned a malicious glare. The Seeker's eyes widened, surprised when they realized something. "Well well, isn't this the Trahyir guard that Fa'el turned into a rat?"

There were murmurs from the others in the room, and they gathered around to look at him. Vaati fumed while some of them exchanged words with each other and snickered, no doubt making a comment about how he'd been reduced to such a pathetic state.

"Can he still speak?"

"Say something, rat."

Vaati only glared at them coldly. Somewhere in the back, he heard Sheik struggle against chains, followed by a pained gasp when he was kneed in the stomach. Vaati wanted nothing more than to rip these Seekers apart, limb from limb, but he was helplessly powerless to do so. He maintained his silent glare.

His refusal to answer them prompted his captor to squeeze him tightly. "He asked you to _speak_."

The pain was excruciating; if his captor squeezed any harder, both of his arms and legs would have broken simultaneously. Vaati bit his tongue, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing him in pain, but in the end he couldn't bear it and shouted in pain.

To the Seeker's ears his shrieks sounded like squeaks. They roared in laughter.

"Hahaha! Guess he cannot," one of them bellowed, to which there was another chorus of laughter.

Through the pain, Vaati shook in rage, angry at the Seekers, but mostly angry at himself. Never had he been more reminded of just how pitiful and useless he'd become, and all the rage and frustrations regarding the Minish that he'd harbored long, long ago, back before he'd obtained the Wishing Cap, came back to him at once. The self-loathing of his insignificance, which in turn extended to hatred for the race as a whole, all of it came back to him in a maelstrom of fury.

 _If only… if only I was back to who I REALLY am._

 _If only I wasn't like this. If only I had more power…_

 _I would make you all BEG_.

Without warning, a brilliant light lit up the room, blinding everyone inside. There were surprised shouts and people stumbled into each other as they tried to figure out what was going on. Amidst the chaos, there was a chilling howl of pain which was instantly silenced, followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor. When the light finally dimmed, everyone in the room stared in shock at the new individual who had suddenly appeared.

The Seeker who'd only moments before had been holding on to the Minish was on the floor, one of his arms twisted and broken and his head bloodied and smashed. He was undeniably dead. The Minish was gone, but instead, standing over the dead Seeker, was a young man with long, pale purple hair, garbed in Sheikah uniform. The source of the flash of light seemed to have come from his right hand, where the mark of the Triforce was glowing brighter than ever. His left was covered and dripping in blood, no doubt from smashing in his captor's head during the confusion.

Vaati's crimson eyes scrutinized the glowing mark on his hand, his expression curious, but cold. Then, his eyes swept over to the remaining group of Seekers who had backed away nervously from his menacing aura.

Vaati sneered, his smile twisted and cruel, and he cracked his knuckles.

"Squeak squeak, you fools."

* * *

 _fleets_ : How was it? I struggled _a lot_ with this chapter, and that's why I wrote more for  Desert Sands in the last few days than this one. Anyways, thanks for your patience!

 **icfehr** : I almost wanted to message you when I first saw your comment because yooo you got it! (the Triforce thing). More on that in the next chappie though ;)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** Ohhh ok that makes sense! And now I'm less worried about having written him in a way I didn't mean to :)  
Vaati v2.0 has since uninstalled the guilt addon

 **Ai Star:** Vaati's about to mess them up!

 **plum:** SOMETHING. HAPPENED! The rollercoaster's still going don't unbuckle your seatbelts just yet  
not gunna lie tenvaasheik is something I have already discussed with some people and. and. I'm too deep in the ship dumpster. I call for help but no one helps me they just push me deeper into the trash bin :')

 **Cutiecat:** Nope, Vaati was just following his emotions once again xD. To his credit, there ARE times he does think things through, though they're uhhhh not well represented in the Demonbound series haha whoops.  
Glad you mentioned that! They were mostly going through similarly stressful experiences, and describing it in the last few chapters seemed a little forced and unnecessary. I'd like to find more opportunities to write about it in the future though!

 **1006aknox:** Ahhhalskdjf;akdjf you flatter me so ;u; (and it blows my mind that people actually rec me to their friends, I don't think I'll ever get used to that no matter how many times people tell me about it. and ahhh I odn't. don't know what to say but thank you? _!_ I look up to Rowling's writing style and storytelling so much so hearing that is like. I don't even know I'm so incoherent right now!)

 **AquilaMage:** Ok. Confession time. If I hadn't gone into this story with the intention of writing a VaaSheik this story would have been HilZel…  
I wanted to write antagonists who were as competent as I could write them, so I'm happy they're giving the impression of being powerful so far! Imagine a dozen Sheiks haha  
Poking fun of Vaati may not have been the best thing to do though. RIP.


	17. Price to Pay

_fleets_ : heyoo I'm currently traveling for a beautiful vacay, but travelling sometimes means writing during break-times so I have a chapter prepped just for you!

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Price to Pay**

Whenever Vaati and Sheik sparred, their contests would be surprisingly equal, regardless of whether or not magic was allowed. Sheik's training rendered him quick and reactive, and often left little opening for Vaati to rely on his spells. Because of this, one might expect that, should Vaati go up against a handful of individuals with training like Sheik's, he would have trouble defending himself, much less defeating them.

However, Vaati never used the full extent of his abilities during friendly contests against Sheik. Some of his abilities were rather lethal, and would be completely inappropriate for a light sparing session.

Such was not the case now, and Vaati's smile was chilling and gleeful. Not only had he been without magic for weeks due to having his powers stolen by Agunima, but he hadn't had the opportunity to fight without restraint since his battle against Dethl _months_ ago.

The bravest, or perhaps most foolish, of the Seekers rushed in to attack him, instantly teleporting to his right and preparing to cut his neck with a precise blow.

Vaati foresaw the attack, and he casually lifted a hand to create a small but powerful gust that sent the Seeker crashing into the wall. They hit the stone with enough force to paint it red with blood, and they slowly fell to the ground, the impact having killed them instantly.

Vaati didn't often attack to kill, preferring a live and terrified audience, but the Seekers had pushed him too far this time. Mercy was not a concept he understood at the moment.

He gazed at the Triforce glowing in his hand, power surging through him. He'd never felt so good, so alive, so _omnipotent_. He'd once thought the power of the Wishing Cap had been formidable, but now he understood that, while close, it had still been a copy of the real thing. This, _this_ was what godlike meant.

The remaining three Seekers backed away slowly, and the panicked look on their faces revealed that they knew that they were outmatched. They turned to run, but a line of sentry eyes suddenly appeared, blocking their way. A searing laser cut in front of their path, and one of the Seekers who hadn't been quick enough to dodge crumpled to the ground, screaming in pain when their legs were set on fire.

A shadow loomed behind them. One of Vaati's arms had transformed into a wicked black and gold claw, similar to the ones he had in his final Wrath form. With no room to escape, the remaining Seekers were instantly silenced as the claws sliced through them.

"Hmph," Vaati sniffed disdainfully, and the claw transformed back into human hands. He shook them in disgust, the blood splattering along the floor as he did so, and he casually stepped over the lifeless bodies.

He could have stopped there, to check back on Sheik and make sure he was okay. He could have stopped and left the cave to try and return to Shadow Link as soon as possible.

He could have stopped, but he wanted blood. Not only had they disrespected him, but they had tried to hurt the one person they should not have touched.

Zelda. Sheik.

He'd decided that Sheik was his responsibility after he'd regained his lost memories at the Gerudo fortress. He could have killed Sheik then, for everything that the Sheikah had put him through, but the idiot had looked at him with foolish sincerity and placed all his faith in him that Vaati wouldn't actually kill him. It was difficult to leave those kinds of idiots alone.

No one.

No one threatened Sheik and got away with it.

Chaos exploded in the cavernous base. An invisible, powerful, malevolent wind rushed through every corner and every crevasse, herding out the rest of the Seekers that remained in the base. The wind pushed them all into one room, and then returned back to its master like an obedient snake.

Vaati stepped into the room with the corralled Seekers, and emerged out of the darkness of the corridor. His eyes glowed red with magic, and behind him darkness dozens of similarly radiating eyes appeared as his one-eyed sentries gathered around. A sinister smile played on his lips as he looked down on the bewildered Seekers.

It was the last thing they saw.

Winds crushing. Slashing. Tearing them to pieces.

With every blow Vaati could feel the power from the Triforce increase within, almost like it was encouraging him to continue using every bit of his abilities to the limit.

He obliged.

Energy spheres charged in his hands. Smoke curled after a ground shaking explosion. The gurgled shouts died down as the last of the wind mage's victims drew their last breath.

He hadn't even bothered to turn any of them to stone. He'd wanted them to bleed.

When the smoke cleared, Vaati turned on his heel and walked slowly back to where he'd left Sheik. "Just who do you think I am?" he hissed at the motionless, charred pile of bodies, and made his way back to the prison room. His grin widened and he clenched the hand with the Triforce, remembering now why he'd once gone after this power with such tenacity years ago. He'd cursed the circumstances that led to him obtaining the Triforce now, but at the same time, this… this was incredible. He now thought he understood why the Holy Arrow that Sheik could summon was so damned powerful, and why every single monster he'd ever come across feared it. Even he, too, may have died back when he fought with the princess if it hadn't been for Twinrova's intervention.

Vaati didn't have all of his abilities back yet (he didn't think he could transform into Wrath), but with every second that passed he could feel his powers slowly returning. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd unlocked the Triforce's potential, or how he'd been able to turn back into his Hylian form, but he had a few guesses: he'd gained his abilities through the power of the Wishing Cap, which had been created with the intent of mimicking the power of the Triforce. When the Seekers had captured him, his rage and desire to ruin them had echoed his old wish to be something greater than a Minish. Somehow, that had been enough for the Triforce to suddenly grant him power.

He took another moment to admire the glowing triangle on his hand again. _Wish I could have figured this out earlier,_ he thought. With his powers returned and growing stronger with every second, he was confident that if he faced Agunima again, he would be able to beat him completely.

He didn't have to run anymore. He was going to make _them_ run.

Smiling to himself, Vaati sauntered back to the prison room with a light, cheerful bounce to his steps. He couldn't wait to show off what he could do again. Maybe he and Sheik could spar later, so he could finally take one victory from the tie they currently had between them. The weeks he'd been a Minish had been excruciating, and he was itching to have a good fight. _I can hardly count this slaughter as a fight,_ he laughed to himself.

He rounded the corner into the room, ready to free Sheik from his shackles and rescue him properly. As he did so, however, his smile fell into a confused frown, which quickly turned into a terror-stricken stare. He stood frozen where he was for a few seconds, not understanding what he was seeing, before he forced his legs to run.

Sheik. There was something wrong with Sheik. He was slumped on his knees and he was held up by his wrists that were locked up in the chains attached to the wall. Vaati ran up to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, shaking him. "Hey!" he barked, but Sheik's head lolled to the side. He didn't appear to be conscious.

 _No. No don't you do this to me. Don't you dare do this to me._ His fingers were fumbled and clumsy, trembling from the panic that was rising in his chest. He pressed his hand against Sheik's throat to feel for a pulse.

 _What happened? What happened?_

A pulse. It was weak, but Sheik still had a pulse.

Alive.

Barely.

Vaati started to search Sheik, to try and figure out what had hurt him. Did the Seekers injure him that badly? He didn't seem to be bleeding from anywhere, so perhaps it had been a severe impact injury…

And then, Vaati's eyes finally landed on Sheik's right hand, where the mark of the Triforce glowed faintly. Which was exactly the problem. It was glowing. _Faintly_.

All the things Sheik had told him about their condition rushed back to him as a convoluted mess of panicked memories. The Triforce had been split to keep him alive. One day it would try to become whole.

 _The Triforce was never meant to be shared between two people_.

Try to become whole.

A soul for a soul.

One of them had to die.

 _Not like this_.

Only moments before he'd been so ecstatic about the powers that he'd recovered, and now… now his joy felt so foolish.

He didn't know what to do. He couldn't think straight, and he was paralyzed, lifting and lowering his hands helplessly. This wasn't a problem that could be solved by beating someone into a bloody heap. In the end, he grabbed Sheik's hand with the Triforce in his, as though hoping that he could somehow transfer back whatever power he'd inadvertently stolen from Sheik. Deep down he knew it wasn't going to work, but it was all he could do;

Just, helplessly holding on to Sheik's hand while he slowly killed him. It was all he could do.

He'd been wrong to think he was no longer helpless.

A memory flashed in his mind's eye, an image of a different princess, frozen as stone. He remembered the memory as something back from when he'd first attempted to take the Triforce for himself. He'd almost succeeded then…

In the memory, he was cackling gleefully while he slowly absorbed the princess's Triforce, all the while knowing that doing so would kill her. He hadn't cared, back then. All he'd wanted was power.

Now it was the last thing he wanted if it meant that Sheik would die.

Vaati's eyes wavered, searching Sheik's unresponsive face for any sign of recovery. With dread, he watched morbidly the weak rise and fall of the Sheikah's chest, wondering how long it would be until he stopped breathing. The limp hand in his palms was growing colder by the second.

This wasn't what he asked for.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps rushing down the hall towards the prison room. Vaati whirled around, his expression fierce like an injured animal determined to fight. He took a step towards the door, ready to destroy whatever enemies he'd missed killing the first time, but he only went as far as he could without letting go of Sheik's hand. He'd allowed this to happen while he ran off to hunt down the Seekers earlier: goddesses be damned if Sheik died on him while he went after any stragglers.

The footsteps neared, and they rounded the corner. There was a flash of white and blue.

 _Sheerow!_ Vaati's head snapped towards the little bird that had zipped into the room. Following it was…

 _Zing!_

A blade slashed where his head would have been, and Vaati had dodged just in time to see the metal pass dangerously close to his face. His eyes swerved left to look at his attacker, and was surprised to see that he recognized them. "Tenz-" he began when he realized who his attacker was, but before he could get another word in, Tenzi made another swift slash towards his chest.

 _Shit he's fast!_

Thankfully, Vaati's earlier attempt to call the Seeker by name made Sheik's Lorulean counterpart hesitate. Tenzi abruptly stopped his attack and jumped back away from Vaati, his expression one of cautious puzzlement. He still held his blade out towards Vaati in warning, but he was no longer actively trying to cut him down. Tenzi said nothing, and only narrowed his eyes and spun the dagger in his hands threateningly as though demanding Vaati to explain himself.

"Tenzi," Vaati tried again. His voice wavered, still shaken from knowing that behind him, Sheik was dying and it was his fault entirely. "I'm Vaati. Sheik is-"

Tenzi straightened up from his crouch a little, red eyes widening in surprise from behind his cowl when realization regarding Vaati's identity dawned on him. He'd already heard from Shadow and Ravio about the tiny mouse creature's identity, and few others aside from those two knew of the name 'Tenzi.' Then, his eyes snapped towards the Sheikah chained to the wall, just barely alive but condition worsening quickly.

Tenzi's eyes thinned when he finally noticed what it was that was causing Vaati distress: The Triforce on Sheik's hand was almost gone.

Without another word, Tenzi lunged towards Vaati, startling the sorcerer. "Give me your hand!" he demanded. When Vaati hesitated, bewildered and rattled, Tenzi snatched his hand himself. " _Your hand!"_ he repeated harshly, and then slammed his own hand, glowing with an inverted Triforce, onto the two Sheikahs'.

There was a flurry of words that was spoken much too quickly for Vaati to catch, and before he knew what was going on he felt a searing pain shooting up his arm. He instinctively fought it, trying to pull away but Tenzi was equally determined and pressed his palm harder down onto Sheik's. Eventually, the pain subsided, though a dull ache remained in Vaati's palms, and he felt his legs give out from under him from sudden exhaustion. The sensation was almost similar to what he'd felt when Agunima had sucked the life out of him.

He blinked, and then he looked up towards Tenzi when he realized what the Seeker had done.

"I stabilized the link," Tenzi murmured under his breath next to him. He let go of Vaati's hand, and with a sigh he knelt in front of Sheik whose breathing, while still weak, had steadied. Vaati's Triforce was no longer glowing so brightly, and Sheik's was no longer so dim. Tenzi watched Sheik, his expression regretful and tinged with sadness. "What a foolish thing you've done," he whispered, his hand lingering a second longer on the mark of the Triforce on Sheik's hand before he stood up again. With a swift movement of his hands, he summoned a small burst of magic that broke the chains on Sheik's wrist. He caught him gently before he fell.

"Is he…" Vaati began, his voice full of worry. He reached out to help Tenzi carry the still-unconscious Sheikah, but the Seeker turned him away with a cold shoulder.

"He'll live," he said, and then added harshly, "Know that this is only a temporary solution. This is as much as I can do for you with my power."

Vaati's expression darkened, but he said nothing, still recovering from the shock of his earlier panic. If this was temporary, then this could very well happen again. As though sensing Vaati's internal distress, Sheerow, who'd been watching the exchange the entire time over by the corner, fluttered up and landed atop his head like it sometimes did with Ravio. Vaati, not in the mood, shooed the bird away, but eventually allowed it to sit on his shoulder when Sheerow stubbornly came back to him.

"I saw the dead Seekers on my way here," Tenzi said, walking out of the room with Sheik in his arms. His tone suggested that he'd been disturbed by what he'd seen.

Vaati walked after him wordlessly.

"You called upon the power of the Triforce, and it nearly killed him."

At Tenzi's accusatory tone, Vaati turned his head towards the Seeker sharply. "I didn't know-" he began defensively, but he froze when Tenzi whirled around and rounded on him. Vaati winced, more because of his guilt than because of the Seeker's raised voice.

"If you access that power again, the wall I've temporarily created between your link will break. When that happens, you will claim the Triforce in its entirety and you _will_ kill him," Tenzi reprimanded. He looked like he was about to say more, but more footsteps running towards them cut him off short. Shadow and Ravio appeared, both of them winded.

"Finally… finally caught up…" Shadow wheezed, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "Tenzi you run… _way_ too fast." He noticed Vaati who'd returned to his Hylian form and a smile lit up on his face, but it quickly turned into a frown when he sensed that something had happened between the Seeker and the sorcerer. Then, he saw Sheik in Tenzi's arms and his cheeks paled. "Hey is he uh…" he looked from Vaati to Tenzi for an explanation. However, Tenzi walked off towards the exit, and when he turned to the remaining Vaati to fill him in on what had just happened, the sorcerer brushed past his shoulders roughly.

"Let's go," Vaati growled, and left Shadow and Ravio to exchange glances with each other, wondering what they had missed.

Normally, Vaati would have retaliated at Tenzi for having spoken to him like that. How dare he speak to him like he knew Sheik better than he did? How dare he suggest that he would ever consider doing something that would endanger Sheik again?

But… he'd been unable to say anything back to Tenzi, then. Tenzi's accusation hadn't been misplaced. Because if the Seeker hadn't been there, Sheik definitely would have died.

And it was because of him.

* * *

 _fleets:_ I really, really wanted to write the next scene but it works better as a new chapter. That's probably going to mean that I'll crank out another early update because _let me tell you_ I've been waiting to write it for a long time now.

Some clarifications just in case this wasn't made clear in the story text: I can already anticipate some people confusing what Tenzi did in this chapter as creating another three-way soulbound link. That's not what he did. He broke the flow of Sheik's half of the power from moving back towards Vaati.

I hope that clears things up! Thanks for reading :)

 **pickle** : I've definitely missed writing Hylian Vaati! I hope this wasn't too long a wait ;)

 **Icfehr:** Ohhhh he beat them down all right xD  
As for the magic question, no, he'll only use abilities he knew back before he lost his powers. It's more because of his arrogance than anything - he thinks he was the best already, no need to use other spells when his favorite windy stuff is good enough :P

 **LoZMadLover:** Yes it did! And alkjsdf I love reading your enthusiasm :') I hope you like this update! (I'm.

 **Lunamew:** You read my mind, because that's pretty much exactly what happened xD The Vaati in this particular series might be a little more bloodthirsty than the one in Rend?

 **Ai Star:** It was only 4 words long but honestly that was the most fun I've had with dialogue in a while now :3

 **AquilaMage:** Pfffffff I really want to talk about TenSheik HilZel but bahhhh I probably just have to keep cranking out chapters haha. You were pretty close with describing it as "raging himself back to normal" :D :D

 **Vesperupus:** Funny you mention that, because I was going back and forth on whether or not he'd go straight to murder. Eventually decided on murder, since I see him as someone who will be willing to make split-second, difficult decisions if he feels it necessary. I think Demonbound Zelda has been hardened from the extended war with Vaati earlier and I imagine Impa training her a little tougher than my other versions of Zelda.  
You know me too well - of course I wouldn't let a good thing last :D (and ahh thank you thank you!)

 **plum:** I feel like I always end up updating on the day I see your review haha  
(gets comfortable in the trash bin) well I guess I'm not gonna be leaving anytime soon huh… :')  
ASSES HAVE BEEN KICKED though he might be regrettin' it a tad.


	18. The Princess of Lorule

_fleets:_ I'm still on vacay but I just really needed to write this. I hope you guys like it!

* * *

 **Chapter 18: The Princess of Lorule**

When Sheik woke he found that he was no longer in the Seekers' hideout, but at the bottom of a cliff somewhere near the edge of a stream. The overlook of the gorges was perfect for hiding them from those that might look for them. He sat up slowly, his body feeling sluggish and leaden like it was reluctant to move. To his surprise, he came face to face with the Seeker who he'd last seen kidnapping Vaati. Tenzi, Shadow Link had called him. Princess Hilda. _An ally_.

"Careful, you were out for a while," Tenzi warned him.

"What happened?" Sheik asked, rubbing his temples when a wave of dizziness hit him. The last thing he remembered was the corners of his vision becoming black until he completely lost consciousness. He'd slowly lost his hearing, his vision, all sensation except a sharp pain on his hand like it had been stabbed with a hot knife. He'd been chained to the wall in the Seekers' hideout, and Vaati had been…

Sheik looked up sharply, frantically looking for Vaati, until he finally noticed a person sitting behind where Tenzi was crouched over him. It was Vaati, not the tiny little Minish that could sit atop his shoulders, but the wind mage himself. An unrestrained smile appeared on Sheik's face, and without a second thought he reached out to him. However…

Vaati glanced at him coolly from where he'd been sharpening one of his daggers. While there was a brief glimpse of relief at seeing Sheik was fine, he stiffened somewhat from Sheik's gesture. He turned away, then, and went back to focus on his blade, clearly bothered by something.

Not fully understanding why Vaati was acting reserved, Sheik recoiled, interpreting his behavior as still being angry about the entire Soulbound situation.

"We'll rest for a while longer here, but then we're going to have to move again," Tenzi said, giving Sheik some space and walking over to join the others who were sitting in a small circle. Ravio and Shadow were sitting on their own rock by the stream, trading stories about what had happened to each other while they'd been separated. Shadow Link looked at Tenzi with a long face when he came over.

"Aw, for real? We're exhausted from running all over Lorule," Shadow complained, but got up and stretched his legs anyway, "I don't get why you still have so much energy left. You're a monster, Tenzi."

Sheik watched the exchange with mild curiosity, with most of his curiosity directed towards Tenzi. He'd heard much about him from Shadow Link, and while he was still annoyed that Tenzi had caused trouble for them by kidnapping Vaati, he was interested in the person who seemed so much like him. To add to that, according to Shadow, Tenzi was his "biggest fan," so of course he wanted to know more about the person who seemed to hold him in such high esteem. He raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of an almost grudging scowl directed at the Seeker from Vaati, and he was more surprised when the sorcerer kept his silence rather than be vocal about his disapproval. Normally, Vaati wasn't shy about letting someone know about his disapproval.

Something funny had happened between those two while he'd been unconscious…

Tenzi paced around the temporary camp impatiently, but eventually stood still in the center as though he preferred it if they could leave immediately, but acknowledged the fact that the others needed rest. "We cannot remain in one place for too long. Agunima would catch our trail soon enough, and who knows how many of these gossip stones we may have missed on our way here." Tenzi grimaced, "Agunima never told me about the gossip stones… I am sorry I placed everyone in danger."

At this, Vaati looked up from where he'd been sharpening his dagger and almost grudgingly joined the conversation. "How much trouble are these gossip stones?" he asked.

"Well as soon as Sheik and I found one the Seekers were all over us," Shadow supplied. "They'll probably find us pretty quick if we're not careful about avoiding them."

Vaati put his blade away and leaned forward, a small smile finally appearing on face. "Hah, they're fairly easy to avoid if you know what to do," he said, to everyone's surprise. He nodded his head towards Sheik, acknowledging him for the first time since the Sheikah had recovered. "I learned some things about them back when we'd fought all across Hyrule," he said with an almost cynical tone, referring back to when he was still enemies with Hyrule.

Shadow raised a quizzical eyebrow, interrupting him. "Really? But you never told me about them," he said. Beside him, Ravio nodded in agreement. He would've thought that his old master would have told him about something so important; it would have made navigating Hyrule a lot easier when Hylian soldiers were after them, along with Impa and Zelda.

Unless…

Shadow frowned. "Wait, hold on a sec," he said slowly, "Uh… I wasn't being used as bait, was I?"

Vaati shrugged. "Sheik could probably tell you that you were a useful distraction," he said in a bored tone, "I am sure the Sheikah kept a close eye on your movements and were too distracted to pay attention to what I was doing elsewhere." Then, the sorcerer shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He disliked admitting wrongs, and in the case of the things he'd done in the past… he knew that they hadn't been the best decisions. At least, they weren't things he would gladly do now, considering his attitude towards Shadow Link and Sheik had changed. Shadow Link had been disposable back then, but back then he hadn't known Shadow like he did now. He'd never bothered to spend the time or effort to get to know that he was more than just a mindless minion. He'd been wrong, but it made him uncomfortable to admit that.

Shadow and Ravio appeared offended by the news, but that in it of itself was a testament to how much things had changed between the unusual group of allies: before, they wouldn't have dared to even suggest that they disagreed with their old master.

"At any rate," Vaati changed the topic quickly, "I understand that the gossip stones watch for humans and monsters, but they do not bother noting the movements of animals. A simple mask to hide one's face with the likeness of an animal is enough to fool the stones into ignoring your movements. Even something like Ravio's hood will work," he explained.

Though Shadow and Ravio remained skeptical, Sheik nodded in agreement. "He's right… The gossip stones are selective in what they attend to." He glanced at Tenzi, who confirmed with a nod of his own. Sheik continued, "We didn't enchant them to pay attention to animals because we would have too much irrelevant information to listen to."

"Unfortunately we still don't have masks for the rest of us," Tenzi said with a sigh. "It's a good idea, but it doesn't really solve our immediate problem."

"Actually…"

Everyone turned towards Ravio who'd suddenly spoken up. While he'd appeared ill at ease earlier, still anxious about being outside in an unfamiliar location for so long, his face had lit up and he almost looked eager. Sheerow, who'd been sitting atop his hands to keep him calm, suddenly flew up to his shoulder instead and peered at him curiously. "Actually we _do_ ," Ravio said excitedly. "I made some a while back."

With a 'pop!', Ravio summoned a large burlap bag that was packed with dozens and dozens of items.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Vaati asked, sitting up and peering at the bag that had materialized out of thin air.

Ravio laughed, abashed, "Oh, well when you've got nothin' to do while waiting around for Mr. Hero-"

"I _told_ you to stop calling me that," Shadow grumbled.

"-to come back from adventuring, you end up finding ways to pass the time. These masks, too, were a small art project!" Ravio exclaimed animatedly. He seemed a lot more relaxed now that Sheerow was with him, and appeared to be happy that he was finally able to contribute to the group. Sheik could almost catch a glimpse of his old 'Shadow Link' personality, especially when he held up a finger and winked, "I'll rent them out to you for a small fee of fifty rupees each!"

Sheik stared at him with a perplexed smile on his face, while Vaati stood up abruptly and strode up to the bunny-hooded boy. "Are you seri-"

"Just pay him," Shadow interrupted Vaati almost tiredly. Tenzi nodded soberly, like he'd had to deal with this often and no longer had the energy to argue. The Seeker walked over to stand between Ravio and Vaati to prevent the sorcerer from storming over and knocking Ravio out, and then held out a hand to the shade.

"Ravio, show me what masks you have?" he asked. Meanwhile, Shadow hopped down from where he'd been perched on his rock and quickly pushed Vaati and Sheik away from the others.

"Hey uhh, you two c'mere a sec," he said, shushing Vaati who was about to protest loudly. Once they were far enough away for some privacy, Shadow looked between Sheik and Vaati with his hands on his hips. Behind him, Tenzi was keeping Ravio distracted by talking to him about the different masks that were available. "Okay, regarding Ravio's money thing," Shadow said in a low voice so that they wouldn't be heard, "don't give him a hard time with it, okay?"

Sheik patiently waited for an explanation, but Vaati was looking at Shadow impatiently with his lips pulled back into a flat line.

Shadow sighed. "His anxiety gets the best of him when he goes outside. It's actually surprising that he's held up for as long as he has right now," he explained. "He was feeling bad that he was staying at home, not being able to do, you know, 'hero things.' He felt like he wasn't doing enough to make a difference, so he started saving money to help people in Lorule who really need it." When Sheik began to nod in understanding, impressed, Shadow rolled his eyes, seemingly irritated. However, he was more embarrassed than annoyed. "The thing is," he continued, scratching his head, "I don't think he wants anyone to know that that's what he's up to, so it'd be great if you just played along and paid him."

Vaati groaned, while Sheik chuckled to himself. "He doesn't need to hide that though, does he?" the Sheikah asked, "There's no shame in wanting to help others."

"Yeah, well, you know us and being called 'heroes.' It's not really _us_."

With some prodding from both Sheik and Shadow, Vaati finally agreed to play along with it and pay Ravio the money whenever he was asked to. By the time they walked back to the other two, Tenzi seemed to have already picked out a mask for himself and was waving at Vaati with another one in his hand.

"Sorcerer," the Seeker called, wearing a mask of a black cat which fit him a little too well. He was perched atop the large rock that Ravio and Shadow had been sitting on earlier.

When Vaati came over, his expression one of wary caution. While he understood that the Seeker was an ally, there was something about him that he just didn't like. He figured it was fitting that Tenzi had chosen a cat mask, since he wasn't fond of them either.

Tenzi held out another mask towards him. "Think this suits you?"

Vaati's cautious frown instantly turned into a scowl, and he flashed Tenzi a cold glare. The mask had been of a white rat. "No," he said tersely, and stormed over to Ravio and snatched a mask of a crow instead.

Behind his cowl, Tenzi's brows knitted together. His mask hid his frown. "I didn't mean it as an insult…" he said, and quietly studied the rat mask, wondering what was so offensive about it. He'd liked Vaati better as a Minish, after all, and both Shadow and Ravio had joked the same before they'd met. Tenzi tossed the rat mask to Sheik instead. "Guess it's cat and mouse with Sheik, then," he shrugged.

Sheik caught the mask in his hands, and blinked. _Um…_

 _Did he just wink at me?_

The blonde backed away a little from Vaati who'd done a tight circle back and almost looked like he was going to smash the mask out of his hands. Then, the sorcerer seemed to remember himself and rounded on Tenzi instead.

"Or maybe you can spend our time more wisely by telling us more about what's going on?" he snapped. He shot a withering look towards Shadow who'd run in front of him with a dog mask of his own. Shadow Link recoiled, and mumbled a half-hearted apology for 'having too much fun, ya grouch.'

Tenzi looked between Sheik and Vaati curiously, observing them with an inquisitive gaze that was longer than necessary. Just when Vaati was about to say something again, the edges of Tenzi's eyes crinkled behind his mask as he smiled to himself, and then nodded slowly as his expression became more serious. He lifted his mask over his head, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Agunima," he said the name heavily while the others gathered around to listen, "is a descendant of one of the Sheikah that were banished to the Dark World for creating the Fused Shadow and trying to overthrow the Hylian royals. The Seekers who you encountered are not representative of the rest of our race, as they are but a small group of extremists who would rather hold on to their bitter past and desire for revenge rather than let go and begin anew. Most of the others live beyond the mountains to keep to themselves. I understand that they had an agreement with the Lorulean royalty that they would only send one representative of their race to serve them, but only under the condition that the rest of their race be left alone."

Sheik listened quietly, the corners of his eyes softening when he realized how familiar the story sounded from what little he'd heard from Impa regarding the mysterious tribe. It was the biggest reason why, no matter how dire the situation of Hyrule, they could never ask the Sheikah for help: first they would be near impossible to find, and second they had an almost stubborn refusal to take part in any more of Hyrule's history. Some of this, he understood it, had stemmed from the very conflict that had banished the Seekers to the Dark World.

"When I was captured, I heard some of the Seekers say something about 'taking back the world that's rightfully theirs.' Do you know what they're planning, Tenzi?" Sheik asked.

Tenzi shook his head, and he hung his head with a difficult expression on his face. He steepled his fingers in front of his face, and stared thoughtfully at the empty space between his feet. "While I am not completely sure of the details, we discovered that they plan to completely remake the world using the power of the Triforce. They wish for a world where the Sheikah can walk freely, no longer bound to their past. However, Agunima is far gone and is no longer himself, and I fear that he intends to erase everyone from both the Light and Dark Worlds, for a place strictly for the True Sheikah. Imagine how many people will die." Tenzi rubbed his forehead tiredly again. "When Agunima first set foot in Lorule Castle, he came under the guise of wanting to serve the royal family. Little did we know that his plan was to become close to us in order to take my Triforce for himself. He has become increasingly deranged after obtaining the Fused Shadow."

Tenzi paused his narrative to close his eyes, burdened by some important secret. He stood up, his voice grave. "Yes, this may come as a shock to you, but my real name is not Tenzi," he said, and his palms began to glow faintly as he focused on a spell. Before long, there was a brief flash of light, and in the place of the young Seeker man was a woman who appeared to be the spitting image of Princess Zelda, except with dark midnight hair and dusked skin like Shadow and Ravio. However, there was a certain kind of intensity and perhaps even hawkishness about her, like she was used to making difficult decisions and taking the mantle of being despised, if it meant doing what she believed was right. Where Zelda was more cautious of offending others, her doppelganger looked like the kind of person who preferred to be blunt even if it made them unlikeable. The princess bowed regally before the others, her red eyes cast downwards with regret. "I am Princess Hilda of Lorule, and I will do whatever it takes to save my world from destruction."

There was an awkward silence, where Princess Hilda waited for some kind of reaction from Sheik and Vaati, while the two in question appeared completely unsurprised by her announcement. She looked up and straightened out her satin dress, frowning from the lack of a reaction. She'd expected at least some indication of surprise, especially since she'd thought she'd been careful of hiding her identity. Hilda looked from Sheik to Vaati almost accusingly, pushing for some kind of explanation.

Sheik was the first to speak. "Shadow already told me…" he began, feeling a little guilty at not having the appropriate response to Hilda's 'big' reveal. Vaati, on the other hand, continued to look bored by her story, though he did seem mildly amused by how similar she appeared to Princess Zelda the same way Shadow was similar to Link.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out," he drawled, to which Hilda cocked her head demandingly as though to ask why. Then, he added with a smirk, "Only a special kind of person names themselves after their tribe."

A blush flushed up the Lorulean Princess's neck all the way to the tips of her ears. She crossed her arms over her chest, her lips pulled back into thin lines. She tried to defend herself. "It's a noble, inspiring name, of a tribe that deserves respect and admiration," she insisted, though there was a hint of an embarrassed stammer from being called out on where she'd thought up the name.

" _Nerd,"_ Shadow whispered to Vaati, but loud enough for the rest to hear. They snickered to each other, while Hilda rounded on Sheik exasperatedly, not enjoying being made fun of.

"Sheik, say something! You understand, don't you?"

" _Nerds._ "

Hilda shot a nasty look towards Shadow and Vaati who were continuing to snicker amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Sheik shrugged, uncomfortable and embarrassed himself.

"I… I don't know. I liked the name back when I was no older than seven, but now that I'm older, admittedly I probably could have picked something better," he mumbled.

Completely crimson now, Hilda stormed away from Shadow and Vaati who were finding her reaction more amusing than necessary. With a sharp snap of her fingers, she transformed back to Tenzi, who absentmindedly pulled down his cat mask over his face to hide his colored cheeks. "Since all of you appear rested enough," he said shortly, ignoring the remarks Vaati and Shadow were exchanging in the background that were undoubtedly about him, "I believe we should keep moving."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The group found a cave alongside the cliff that followed the stream sometime later, which they decided to use to spend the night. For the time being, it appeared that they had successfully thrown their trail from their pursuers, though they all agreed that it would be best not to remain in one place for too long. Tenzi promised to fill Sheik and Vaati in on what he, Shadow, and Ravio had been working on to combat Agunima for the past month or so, but in the morning after they all had gotten some rest. They'd had enough to worry about for one day.

Sheik, who had long since recovered from his near-death experience, had gone off with Tenzi to catch fish from the stream for everyone to eat, as visiting towns for food was no longer an option (as evidenced by what had happened to Tenzi at Thieves Town earlier), and no one had packed any food. Tenzi's exceptional enthusiasm for spending time with the Sheikah did not go unnoticed by the others who sat near the entrance of the cave, waiting for the two of them to come back.

"Is it just me, or does Tenzi seem a lot more cheerful than usual?" Shadow wondered aloud as he walked over to join Ravio and Vaati who'd been staring at the campfire silently for a while now. He and Ravio had spent quite a lot of time with Tenzi, or rather Hilda, and the princess was normally stern and to-the-point, always too worried about the state of her kingdom to talk about frivolous things. Some people who didn't know her well called her the Dark Princess, referring to the fact that her expression was often shadowed with burden and was rarely graced with a genuine smile. Right now, Tenzi looked so much more alive with an almost childishly sincere excitement.

In response to his earlier question, Shadow only received an irritable grunt from the sorcerer and a tired shrug from Ravio.

Shadow Link raised an eyebrow at the two of them, but then went back to see what Tenzi and Sheik were up to. They seemed to have taken a break from snatching fish from the stream with their agile hands, and were instead sharing a conversation which each other. At some point, Tenzi transformed back to Princess Hilda and prodded Sheik animatedly to do the same, to which he eventually obliged tiredly, suggesting Hilda had asked him at least more than once before. Hilda's excited squeal at the introduction of Princess Zelda could be heard all the way from where the others were waiting.

There were audible sighs from behind Shadow, and he turned around to see Vaati and Ravio staring at the crackling fire more bitterly than ever.

He wrinkled his nose at the two of them. _What's up with those two?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Look at how _cute_ you are!" Hilda gushed, clapping her hands together while Zelda gave an embarrassed laugh at her enthusiasm. At first, Zelda had been hesitant about transforming back as her princess self, but Hilda had insisted and her eagerness had been difficult to deny. Hyrule's princess absentmindedly brought her fingers to her now-exposed face out of habit, to tug the cloth around her neck that was no longer there. She still felt uneasy about walking around as the princess outside the castle, but the more she spoke to Hilda, the less bothered she became. Her happiness was infectious.

"I'm so happy I can finally meet you properly. Shadow and Ravio told me all about you. Who knew that there would be a princess just like me in the next world over?" Hilda said happily, and Zelda couldn't help but smile at her Lorulean counterpart. She remembered her conversation with Shadow Link, and it was clear he hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that Hilda was her biggest fan. Seeing Hilda talk to her with so much excitement made Zelda feel a little guilty about insisting earlier that Hilda was no friend of theirs; seeing Princess Hilda in person, it was clear that she wanted to help. Zelda was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed that Hilda had clasped her hands together earnestly. "When all of this is over, can we remain friends?" the dark-haired princess asked.

"Of course," Zelda smiled at such a silly, simple request.

"Thank you!" Hilda beamed. Then she hung her head, letting go of Zelda's hands almost reluctantly. Her voice suddenly lost its earlier enthusiasm. "I… to be honest I do not have many friends aside from Shadow Link and Ravio. I am not very good at making them," she admitted quietly, and then quickly turned her heel to walk out of sight of the others who were still waiting for the two of them by the cave entrance, perhaps out of shame. Zelda picked up the bag with the fish they'd caught so far, and then followed after her, taking care not to have her dress dip into the stream.

"Really?" the blonde asked in genuine surprise as she walked after her, jumping over rocks littering the edge of the stream. Hilda had been friendly and easy to talk to so far, and Zelda had difficulty believing that she didn't know how to make friends. The princess caught up to her around the bend of the stream where Hilda was standing with her back towards her, looking up at the orange sky wistfully.

"I find it difficult to be myself when I am the reigning princess of Lorule," Hilda explained as Zelda approached. When she turned around slowly, Zelda was surprised into silence when she saw an expression she'd too often seen in her own mirror. It was a small, almost defeated smile full of loneliness and longing, a smile that knew all too well what it meant to be responsible for the lives of a hundred others. "But with you, with you I just feel like you would understand me."

Zelda said nothing, her expression softening into one of reflective sympathy. Hilda's words… it was almost like she was listening to herself.

"I… also noticed your Triforce…" Hilda said hesitantly, nodding at the softly glowing mark on Zelda's hand.

Zelda's face lit up, hopeful to finally hear some good news regarding the dilemma with the Triforce. Ravio had once suggested that Princess Hilda may know of a way to help her and Vaati both live. However, her hope dimmed when she saw Hilda look away and tell her words that she'd never wanted to hear.

"I am sorry," Hilda said quietly, "There is nothing I can do for you. It is a terrible burden to carry, and I wish I had better news for you both."

"Is there any way…?" Zelda asked, but she was only met with another apology. It was firm, final, though not without compassion. Still, it didn't hurt any less to hear it.

"I am sorry," Hilda repeated.

The reality of what Hilda just said didn't really register for a while. It wasn't until Hilda apologized for the second time that Zelda realized just how much she'd been relying on the glimmer of hope that the Princess of Lorule would have a solution that would allow both her and Vaati to live. Hilda… Hilda had been her last hope. She'd looked extensively for all other alternate solutions, but she hadn't even come close to finding anything.

Hilda couldn't fix what she'd done.

Zelda could feel her throat clench up and panic begin to set in, but she forced herself to breathe it down and suppress it. It was only with her determination not to let Vaati know that something was wrong that she forced herself out of her distress; if he sensed her panic through their unfortunate bond, he would demand to know what was wrong, and she couldn't have that conversation right now. Not again.

Not when she knew now that there truly was only one option left.

Hilda gently placed a hand on her previously shaking shoulders, and looked in the direction from which they'd walked, back where Vaati and the others were waiting for them. "You care about him, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Zelda breathed, focusing on removing the nervous tremors from her voice. She'd stopped shaking, but her posture was rigid and her skin was cold to the touch. She took another breath, and tried instead to find comfort in the hand on her arm that warmed her.

Hilda walked her over slowly to one of the rocks by the stream and sat her down to rest a while. She studied Zelda thoughtfully, her red eyes searching the other's expression carefully. Then, after a while a small pensive smile appeared on her face. "Are you two together?" she asked.

Zelda jumped, Hilda's question jolting her out of whatever troubling thoughts that had been plaguing her. Her ashen face instantly flushed, color returning to her cheeks and her skin no longer cold. She stammered, and her eyes darted wildly at Hilda's patiently smiling, though somewhat devious face. "W-what? No! I mean, no. I mean," Zelda struggled with her words. Eventually, she turned away and murmured under her breath, "I don't know…"

"Don't know?"

"It would be inappropriate," Zelda replied hastily, almost like repeating a mantra that she'd gone over again and again in her mind before. "We work together. I once tried to kill him. He's also my friend, it would be awkward if…" she trailed off under Hilda's scrutinizing gaze. And then, another thought came to her, causing her to slump forward where she sat and rested her forehead tiredly against her hands. _It was ALREADY awkward between them._ "I don't even know," she said eventually.

The gurgle of the stream filled the silence. In the distance, they could hear the faint voices of arguing from the three they'd left behind at camp, and the tug of heated annoyance that Zelda could feel from soulbound suggested that either Ravio or Shadow (most likely Shadow) had said or done something to get on Vaati's nerves. Thankfully, that probably meant that Vaati was too distracted to notice any of her confused distress. Hilda was forcing her to confront feelings she'd happily ignored, and that was… that was another conversation she wasn't ready to have with anyone, much less the sorcerer himself.

Not that anyone was ever ready to have that kind of conversation.

"Hmmm. You know, I'm not sure I understand excuses like that," Hilda said with a shrug. She smiled. "You clearly love him."

Zelda scrambled away from the rock that they were sitting from, startled speechless from Princess Hilda's unapologetic bluntness. She stared, stunned at the Lorulean Princess who had her chin on her hands and was watching her with amusement twinkling in her eyes. Biting her cheek, Zelda suddenly transformed back to Sheik, who she felt more comfortable with, and hastily buried her face in the cloth wrapped around her neck to hide her reddening cheeks.

Sheik took a deep breath, and then locked eyes with Hilda challengingly. He wasn't even sure why he was resisting her observations so much, but he was.

The truth was terrifying. Lies were more comforting.

 _You always were a liar._

"I-it's complicated," he said shortly.

However, Hilda wasn't buying his bullshit. They were too alike, and she knew him too well. She stood up slowly from where she was sitting and transformed into Tenzi herself to match Sheik. With light steps, Tenzi approached Sheik with that same smirk that he'd had when they'd first met.

Tenzi grinned. "Hardly."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shadow sat perched across the fire from Vaati and Ravio, chewing the tip of his hat thoughtfully while he looked from one to the other. He glanced over his shoulder where Zelda and Hilda had gone, only to see that the two of them had wandered off somewhere together where they could no longer see them. Then, he went back to look at Ravio and Vaati again and something clicked in his head. A smile blossomed on his face like someone had just told him he could light the place up with his specialty bombs.

"Oh. Nayru. Don't tell me," he said, a hand over his grinning mouth.

Ravio barely acknowledged him, while Vaati shot him a chilling glare in warning.

This did not hinder Shadow Link.

"Don't tell me that ya'll are actually _jealous_?"

"No."

"N-no!"

The response was immediate. Shadow Link rolled over in laughter while the other two looked daggers at him.

"I don't believe it. I love this! This is too perfect. _I love this_ ," Shadow cackled, much to Ravio and Vaati's annoyance. He'd always known that Ravio admired Lorule's princess, and in the case of Vaati, well…

As a former minion to the Sorcerer of Winds, he knew pretty well what his old master was thinking. He'd noticed before how Vaati sometimes went out of his way to do things for Sheik, and he hadn't really thought much of it until he sensed that foul stench of jealousy just now. Oh this was good. This was _too good._

"Shadow, whatever it is you're thinking…" Ravio began exasperatedly.

Shadow hopped back up onto his feet. "I'm gonna tell 'em."

Before he could get even one step out of the cave, Vaati stood up and grabbed Shadow Link by the collar. He didn't say anything, but the warning was clear from the murderous look on his face.

"Ravio, help?" Shadow hissed between his teeth, but Ravio only frowned and held out a hand.

"For nine hundred rupees," he said flatly.

"Oh come on, y'all are so boring!" Shadow Link protested. "I mean it was always kind of obvious that you fancied- OW." He yelped, Vaati 'accidentally' pulling him a little too close to the fire.

Loud arguing ensued.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sheik looked back at Tenzi's piercing gaze, trying to force himself not to break it because that would almost be like admitting the Seeker was right. Tenzi, however, was patient, and it became increasingly difficult not to turn away from those intense red eyes, shadowed beneath his cowl.

"People like us, we never know when tomorrow might be our last," Tenzi said quietly. "We don't always get the goodbyes we think we deserve."

"I know." The reply came short, and Sheik finally turned away, knowing what Tenzi was referring to and not wanting to think about it. The Seeker took a step closer and took Sheik's hands, forcing him to look up at him again.

"Live every day like it's your last. You must go after what you want, or you may regret it for the rest of your life," he said earnestly.

"I know…" Sheik sighed this time. He knew what Tenzi was saying, but he didn't want to listen. It wasn't that simple, what would he know?

Suddenly, Tenzi scoffed, seemingly unimpressed.

"Oh?" the Seeker asked. The question was almost teasing. Taunting. Challenging. He took another step forward, letting go of Sheik's hands, his fingers trailing along his palms, and Tenzi pulled down the mask that covered his face to reveal a smirking visage. Unobstructed by the mask, Sheik could see some features of Hilda on Tenzi, like the forlorn but determined smile and the stubborn jawline of someone who rarely gave up. Then, before Sheik knew what was happening, calloused, taped fingers brushed against the side of his cheek, tugging down the cloth that covered his face, and soft lips connected with his for a tame but firm kiss.

And then, just like that, before Sheik's head could catch up on what had just happened, Tenzi pulled away, still with that same smirk and his hands still against Sheik's face. "Do you really know what it means to go after what you want?" he asked, his face still close enough that Sheik could feel his breath against his lips. Then, Tenzi let go of the Sheikah, and began walking back towards where Vaati, Ravio, and Shadow could still be heard arguing, leaving Sheik stunned and staring after him speechless. He pulled his mask up over his face again, but his grin could still be heard in his voice.

"Because I don't think you do."

* * *

 _fleets:_ :D (whispers) ship-all-the-ships

 **AquilaMage:** Ahhhh glad you liked it! It was fun to finally write him back to almost full power :) And the gang's finally back together! More fun to be had hopefully :D

 **Ai Star:** Vaati's magic is definitely off-limits again. I don't give him a break haha xD

 **Icfehr:** Grim indeed! Ahhh well the Triforce wasn't _literally_ telling him to go for it, it was more symbolic(?) not sure if that's the word for it haha.  
Vaati's definitely on a leash with his magic right now though! :O

 **plum:** I finally got to a shippy chapter! And I give you part of the blame hurray! hahaha ahhh thank you so much my fellow trashbin friend (hearts)

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** I updated quite fast I think! No worries! :)  
Sheik's ok! He was just out a little, will recover. But uhh, might need more recovery time after what just kind of happened (good times indeed haha)

 **pickle:** Ahhh thank you! My writing rulebook tells me I'm only allowed to give Vaati good things for no longer than one chapter, so I had to ruin his day at the end last chapter :3  
Thank you so much pickle! I try not to make people wait too long (mostly because I can't bear the wait myself haha). I hope you like this chapter!


	19. Kill Me Who'll Kill You

fleets: well. it's been a while, huh? I hope people are still around (looks around at crickets chirping)

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Kill Me Who'll Kill You**

Sheik prided himself on being a generally calm, collected individual who could keep a level head even in situations most people would find trying. Right now, however, his thoughts were running all over the place and he was _distracted._

Tenzi had already gone on ahead to meet back with the others in camp, but Sheik had straggled behind. His ears twitched and turned a shade of red when he thought about what had just happened a few minutes ago, of the Interloper placing his hands along his face, bringing him closer, lips brushing against his boldly, but with a hint of restraint. It had surprised him, and of course he was flustered about it because…

Truth be told, he wasn't very experienced with _this_ kind of… thing. He'd always been too busy to even think about relationships. Farore, he'd been too busy to even have _friends,_ until Vaati, Shadow, and Ravio happened.

As he slowly, reluctantly walked back to camp, he absentmindedly hid his face deeper behind the cloth wrapped around his neck.

Well, no. To say that he was flustered simply because Tenzi had shown an interest was false. Plenty of people had shown interest in him, though admittedly not quite as bold as Tenzi's method, and he was so used to it that normally he barely gave it a second thought. This time, though…

 _You clearly love him._

He grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose as Tenzi's teasing voice echoed in his memory. He grimaced some more when he tried and failed to rid himself the memory of exactly what was making him so distracted. The more he tried to forget it, though, the more it seemed to worm its way back to his head.

 _Red eyes, slightly teasing. However, they weren't Tenzi's, for they had a certain fire to them that the Shadow Warrior lacked. And then their lips met and he'd found himself imagining that they weren't Tenzi's but V-_

No. Noooo he wasn't going to go there. Ok, well, he already _did_ go there but he damn well wasn't going to go _back_ there.

He'd suspected harbored feelings for some time, but he'd happily ignored them. It had been easy to ignore them, because there were always other things that needed more attention, and there had been an assumption that he could maybe figure it out once everything settled down.

It only recently became clear that things were probably _never_ going to settle down. There wasn't going to _be_ a time where he could have a quiet afternoon to himself to sit down and figure things out, because deep down he was trying his hardest to avoid thinking about it. The salience of death with the whole trouble with the Triforce made him conscious of his avoidance.

And Tenzi was forcing him to confront it.

He groaned, startling a bird that had been sitting in a branch nearby, and then he dragged his hand over his troubled face. He sat down on a rock for a few seconds, only to stand up and keep walking again because he knew he'd have to go back to camp at some point or risk nosy questions. Mostly from Shadow Link.

He returned to camp half-expecting Vaati, who was uncannily perceptive about even the slightest shifts of his expression, to pick up on his distracted state. However, it seemed that something had happened to the group while he'd been away, and the others seemed more concerned about their own problems. Vaati and Ravio were sitting away from Shadow Link, who was hugging his knees a few feet away with something like a pout on his face. Ravio's face was mostly hidden by his hood that was jammed over himself, while Vaati sat with his head turned sideways and refused to meet anyone's gaze. Tenzi had already joined the others and was perched over the fire, his chin resting on a knee with what Sheik could only imagine was a self-satisfied grin behind his mask as he silently observed the rest.

 _What happened here?_ Sheik wondered, relieved that everyone was too preoccupied to notice him.

"I think it's about time to tell you about the plan we had to take Agunima down," Tenzi said as Sheik joined the group, breaking the stifled atmosphere between all of them.

Sheik glanced at Shadow who still looked like a child whose parents had grounded him, and then to Vaati who waved his hand towards Tenzi with an irritable grunt as though to tell him to get on with it. For a brief moment his eyes met the sorcerer's, but Vaati whipped his head away angrily, like he'd made a mistake to acknowledge him.

Sheik bit back a frown. Vaati had been acting weird ever since he'd regained consciousness after being rescued from the Seeker's base. Or, well, he'd been weird since the two of them had argued on the roof of Hyrule castle just before his kidnapping, but he was being even more weird now. From the way he was being especially avoidant towards Sheik, he knew it had something to do with him, but it wasn't like the normally direct Vaati to be so obtuse about what was clearly upsetting him.

And Sheik _knew_ there was something upsetting him: the perk of soulbound being that he could sense that bubble of irritated frustration that wasn't entirely his own.

Sometimes, it was difficult to tell what emotion belonged to who, since it seemed that only the more intense emotions transferred over, and Sheik was beginning to notice that the two of them tended to naturally mirror feelings, soulbound or no. Actually, he only realized it now, but it was almost funny how Vaati would get angry on his behalf, like when nobles called for useless meetings with Zelda, or how the sorcerer would look content, happy even, when good news reached him. Maybe that's why he always felt safe with his emotions around the sorcerer, without need for a social mask; he already knew him. _Really_ knew him.

It took Sheik a moment to realize that Tenzi was already explaining the gist of their plan. He readjusted his position so that his back was turned slightly away from Vaati as well: there were other things to focus on than personal troubles…

"-been digging a path directly under Agunima's base for several weeks now," Tenzi said. Sheik assumed that he was talking about Shadow Link from the way the shade finally looked up from his miserable frown and nodded his head enthusiastically. _Ah, so that's what Shadow and Ravio had been doing while we hadn't heard from them._

"Ravio's mogma mitts really helped out!" Shadow exclaimed, shooting glances towards his twin with a hopeful expression, looking for some kind of reconciliation between them.

"You still owe me one hundred rupees for the rental fee," Ravio grumbled, clearly still annoyed by whatever it was that Shadow had said or done earlier.

"I thought it was fifty!"

"Fifty per _each_ glove."

Shadow's hopeful expression instantly became put out again. Meanwhile, Tenzi continued, ignoring the spat that was going on between the two of them.

"Ravio crafted a giant bombchu that we can remotely direct into the tunnel that leads beneath Agunima's base. The tunnel leads just below the powder and weapons room, so the explosion from the bomb should also set a chain reaction with the explosives in the base storage. The plan is to set the bomb off while Agunima's back in his base, and then use Sheerow's tracking skills to find him in case he manages to escape the explosion. I am almost certain that the blast won't kill him, what with the power of the Fused Shadow. I also understand that the mask has absorbed some of the power of the creature you call Dethl, as well as the power he stole from the sorcerer." Tenzi nodded his head towards Vaati who frowned at being mentioned. "He is as close to a monster as a human could get right now, but if we can catch him alone and we all fight together, we have a chance to win." At this, Tenzi frowned, and he shook his head. "I admit that the plan is a little crude and is not exactly polished, but it'll at least take out the Seeker's entire base and what allies he has for sure."

"Just how big is this bomb?" Sheik asked.

Ravio perked up, a blue-green eye peering out from under his hood while he continued to pointedly ignore Shadow Link. "Big," he answered. "It has enough power to completely demolish a castle."

"You dug a tunnel under their base and Agunima never found out about it even with his Gossip Stones?" Vaati asked, his brows furrowed in skepticism.

"It's entirely possible that he knows," Tenzi admitted, "but I find it unlikely as he would have had plenty of opportunities to catch Shadow Link and yet he did not."

"That, or he _wants_ us to be there," Vaati muttered. Then, he pointed a finger at Tenzi and then to Sheik. "Wouldn't we just be handing him over everything he wants by going to him? Everything he wants will be in one place. If we just show up and he takes the Triforce pieces that we have, all of this would have been pointless and incredibly foolish."

"I admit that it's a risk. However, the Fused Shadow can only control and steal the Triforce from one person at a time, as far as I know. As long as we stay together and don't get separated, he'll be hard pressed to simply steal them from us."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the rest went over the proposed plan and their limited options. Tenzi held back a sigh as he looked at the troubled expressions of Sheik and Vaati, and then shook his head.

"If there was a better plan I would have taken it, but we are running out of time. The four of you are the only people I can trust to help me. Although Lorule has enough soldiers to fight Agunima, they will not help and may even turn against me. Even Thieves' Town has fallen under Agunima's influence now. They are afraid."

Tenzi's gaze finally wavered and he looked down at his feet, revealing his earlier confidence in their situation to have been a front he'd been bravely maintaining. He rested his forehead against his hands, and though he tried his best to sound assured, uncertainty was creeping into his voice. It was difficult not to feel sorry for him then, crushed by the weight of his kingdom's fate. Sheik could relate to the feeling all too well.

"The first few weeks after Agunima gained power, he made it clear to my soldiers that anyone who did anything to suggest that they were his enemy would have to watch their families suffer. Though I hold the throne, my people do not love me so much that they would sacrifice their family. I heard so much about you from Shadow and Ravio, and they trust that you won't betray me, and I in turn trust them. You're all I have," Tenzi said quietly. He didn't raise his head to look at the rest of them, like he was afraid of their answer. "Come tomorrow morning, can I count on you to help me?"

"Of course Tenzi," Ravio said immediately. Sheik nodded in agreement, and Shadow responded with a fist in the air and a loud "Yeah!" embellished with some foul but enthusiastic language.

Vaati was the last one. He lifted his chin slightly, and there was a cynical smile on his face. It wasn't without a hint of amusement, however, like he knew that this was probably a bad idea, but he also knew that he was going to go through with it anyway. "If only to see that bastard suffer," he grinned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A little while later, the group had broken off, with some making off to help clean camp while others sought a quiet place to mull in their own thoughts. While all of them were used to dangerous missions, there was an unspoken understanding among them that this could very well be the last night they had. Their earlier enthusiasm waned, and a somber atmosphere brought along with twilight settled over the camp as each went about their own way to distract themselves from what awaited them in the morning.

Shadow Link, who had been poking at the logs in the fire, looked up and noticed that Sheik had vanished. It was just like him, he thought, remembering the time back in the Goron Mountains when he'd disappeared from the others after being overwhelmed with emotion. Ravio was further in the cave, and the sounds of his tinkering could occasionally be heard along with the faint chirps from Sheerow; no doubt he was keeping himself busy both to make sure everyone's gear was in quality shape for tomorrow, as well as to distract away the anxiety. Master Vaati had been brooding against the wall nearby earlier, but he, too, had wandered off somewhere.

Shadow sighed, kicking some rocks into the fire. Normally he would have followed his urge to cause mischief, but somehow he just couldn't be bothered.

They were really going to do it. After weeks and weeks of preparation, he, Ravio, and Princess Hilda finally had all the pieces to face Agunima. He didn't remember feeling so… dreadful… about anything before. Even when they'd gone to fight Dethl, who had been a creature that had been far more terrible than Agunima, he hadn't felt so awful. In fact, he remembered feeling hopeful, almost unstoppable, during their moments before the confrontation against the Nightmare.

Shadow glanced to the empty spot where Vaati had been just before the sorcerer had wandered away. Before, they'd had Master Vaati's confidence. They'd had Sheik's hope. This time, however, the wind mage looked almost defeated even before the fight had started, and Sheik still carried around that fatalistic look in his eye that dimmed his usual, determined energy. Tenzi was the only one who still had the power to pull everyone forward, but he'd been pulling for so long, by himself, with not even his kingdom to support him, that the fatigue was beginning to show.

What confidence could a shadow like him have, then, if the three people he looked up to the most, just barely believed that they could win?

"You look worried. That's not like you, Shadow."

Tenzi joined him, squatting in a crouch by the fire. The light flickered in his eyes. "Having second thoughts?"

Shadow scoffed. "Of course not. We're not gonna let you fight alone."

Tenzi tugged at his mask, freeing his face to the crisp air of the wilderness. The Seeker took a look around the area for a bit, and then there was a flash of light from his palms. When the light subsided, it was no longer the Seeker warrior sitting next to Shadow, but a young, dark skinned woman with Tenzi's sharp red eyes. She stretched and brushed the dirt off of her silk gloves before she settled back down in her seat. "Sitting here chatting with you like this, it's almost like we never left the castle, huh?" Princess Hilda asked Shadow with a smile, reminiscing about the days before everything became complicated.

Shadow chuckled in agreement, and then Hilda went back to looking at the fire pensively. "After all of this is over," she said quietly, "we should all go somewhere. No missions, no meetings. Something fun." The princess hesitated a little at the word, like it was something she was unused to saying.

"Good luck getting Sheik to agree."

Hilda laughed. "I was like him, once."

"Haha, yeah."

"Meeting you and Ravio, the two of you…" Hilda's grin became more somber and reflective. There seemed to be something she wanted to say, but was having trouble finding the words. The princess trailed off, and then hung her head, resting her chin on her knees while she fell into thoughtful silence.

Shadow chuckled. He knew what she'd wanted to say even though the words had eluded her. "You're welcome," he said, flashing his usual, cheeky grin. His grin widened when Hilda snickered lightly in response.

"By the way," Shadow said, changing the topic. He bit his lip for the two seconds his impulse control was working, before curiosity got the best of him and he blurted, "You were speaking to Sheik for a long time earlier."

Hilda lifted her chin and looked at Shadow for a few seconds, and then threw back her head and laughed. "I know what you're getting at, Shadow," she teased, and chuckled when the shade crossed his arms over his chest impatiently.

"So?" he asked.

"If you must know, I kissed him is all."

Shadow Link blinked. His mouth hung open as he watched Hilda wave her gloved hand dismissively, and then he closed his gaping mouth in exchange for a grimace. "Master Vaati is going to kill you if he finds out," Shadow groaned, running a hand over his face. He frowned when Hilda tittered in response.

"I _did_ ask Sheik if they were involved at all first, by the way." Then, she added with a smirk, "If it bothers the sorcerer so, he would have better things to spend his time on than coming after _me_."

"Yeah but… Hilda that's just…" Shadow waved his hands helplessly, trying to find a word that would appropriately describe his opinion of the situation, before he eventually gave up and went back to dragging his fingers across his face with a visible cringe.

Still grinning, Hilda bumped him lightly with her elbow. "I'm not going to get in between them," she reassured him, "To be honest, I don't think anything _can_. All I did was give Sheik some advice, and something to think about."

"If you say so…"

Hilda shook her head in response to Shadow's skeptical grumble. She hugged her knees, watching the embers of the fire flit towards the ceiling of the cave before burning out. "It was brief, but when I saved them at the Seeker's hideout, I could sense the link that bound them. I could tell… I don't think even they realize that their connection goes beyond what happened to them with the Triforce," she murmured, and there was a faint hint of envy in her voice. "Nothing can break them. It's… kind of why I can be so bold around them. Because nothing is going to happen."

Shadow Link looked at her for several seconds, watching the orange and reds of the fire dance across the contours of her almost poignant smile. He bit his cheek for a moment, and then he beamed with his mischievous grin. "You're kind of devious," he said.

At this, Hilda looked at him in a moment of surprise. Then, she smiled, a genuine one this time. "Dark Worlders kind of are."

"Damn right!"

Hilda's smile cracked, and then she turned her head away while she tried to keep her composure. A small snicker eventually broke through, and then she allowed herself a tired laugh. "What would I do without you, Shadow?"

"Get in a lot less trouble, for starters."

"I got into _plenty_ of trouble on my own before I met you and Ravio." She stretched her arms, and then rested her chin on a hand. She sighed. "What I said to Sheik, though…," the princess murmured, her voice barely audible, "I honestly wish I could take my own advice sometimes."

Shadow tilted his head, curious. "What was the advice?" he asked.

Hilda didn't answer, lost in her own thoughts. Instead, she looked over her shoulder briefly to where Ravio had disappeared to earlier. Then, she stood up, brushing herself off and making no indication of having heard Shadow's question. "I'm… going to go check on Ravio for a little. He says he's fine, but you know how he is," she said.

"Okay…"

"Make sure the other two come back before it gets too dark out."

Shadow Link nodded. Before long, he was alone by the fire again. After some time, he looked up towards the cave entrance that led outside, and frowned. The surrounding area of the cave was safe from gossip stones, they'd made sure to that earlier, so Shadow wasn't too concerned about either Sheik or Vaati running into trouble while they wandered off.

He glanced at the spot where Vaati had been standing earlier, and remembered the stifling atmosphere between the Sheikah and the sorcerer the moment they'd reunited. He recalled Sheik telling him about how furious Vaati had been regarding the soulbound situation. From what Shadow knew, those two hadn't really spoken since then.

Shadow wasn't too concerned about them running into trouble outside. However…

He stood up and walked to the spot where Vaati had been, and peered outside to where the creek snaked through thickets and trees.

He _was_ a little concerned about Master Vaati doing something… stupid.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sheik wandered off, not too far from the cave, but far enough to feel alone, away from everyone else. It was a habit of his, one that caused Impa grief at times, to run off and avoid everyone whenever he was feeling troubled.

Some people would argue that this habit of his made him unfit to rule, but it wasn't the case that he ran away from every problem. No, he was quite good at managing difficult decisions that needed to be made for the kingdom as a whole. It was personal problems that he'd never been very good at dealing with.

And Din's Fire he was being overwhelmed with them right now. He didn't even know where to begin.

So he wandered. Away. They were waiting until morning now to move in to assault Agunima's base, and waiting was a dangerous state to be in for the troubled mind. Unnecessary thoughts tended to make their presence known when there was time to wait.

He walked downstream of the thin creek that ran in front of the cave. He remained close to the thicket, at times moving through the thin, gangly trees that poked up from the bushes. Eventually, he found himself about a five-minute walk away from camp where the creek bent further into a forest that was much too dense to move through. Startled fireflies floated up from the thick bushes.

Without warning, Sheik whirled around with a dagger in hand, prepared to strike at something behind him. Metal met with metal with a clang, and his grip on his blade relaxed when he recognized the person who'd come up behind him.

"Careless of you to allow someone to sneak up on you," Vaati chided, sounding pleased with himself.

Sheik put his dagger away with a frown. "Vaati," he said, his voice carrying a bit of annoyance. He was annoyed that he'd been so distracted to let someone follow him without noticing, but he was more annoyed that his solitary wandering had been disrupted.

He didn't want to talk to anyone. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now, not when his thoughts were murky and confused. Sheik turned to leave, but Vaati stopped him.

"We need to talk."

"You've been avoiding me since we met up again," Sheik said coolly, making it very clear in his tone that he didn't want to be bothered right now. Vaati, however, was equally stubborn.

"Well, I want to talk _now_."

Sheik held back a frustrated sigh. He could feel himself getting increasingly upset, and once again he couldn't tell if it was something he was genuinely feeling or if part of the blame fell on Vaati. He bit his tongue as he turned around slowly. Vaati was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, and his hood was thrown over his head making it difficult to see his expression clearly. However, Sheik could still see the pale hair that washed over his face curling around the edges of his frown, and he could tell just from the sorcerer's tone that he was looking at him with a demanding glower. Knowing that Vaati wasn't going to leave him alone, Sheik relented. "… I'm listening," he said, and then leaned against a tree.

Vaati's eyes narrowed behind his hood, and he paused, like he was taking a mental breath to hold back on his argumentative tone. "We haven't really spoken since Tenzi kidnapped me," Vaati began. Then, he stuck out his hand and showed it to Sheik. His argumentative tone came back. "I'm still upset about this," he said, shoving the gold glow of the Triforce on his hand in front of Sheik's face.

Sheik immediately pushed himself away from the tree he'd been leaning against, and started to walk away again. While Sheik was normally a collected individual, he almost wanted to yell at Vaati, and not just because of his link to Vaati's volatile emotions. He was tired of this conversation, of mulling and troubling over it, of despairing over it. He shoved away the bushes and leaves that were in the way of his path with more force than necessary, walking quickly away from the sorcerer. "I don't want to have this discussion again, Vaati. I told you before, I'm not apologizing for-"

To Sheik's surprise, Vaati swiftly strode in front of him and grabbed him by the collar. The sorcerer yanked him towards him, his grip making it difficult to breathe.

"I _almost killed you_ ," Vaati snapped, his teeth bared and seething in rage. His breath was hot on Sheik's face as Vaati glared at him. Then, the sorcerer shoved him backwards, causing the other to stumble and rub his neck in surprise.

Vaati stormed back towards the stunned Sheikah. "Do you know what happened back there, at the Seeker's hideout?" he snarled, "My magic returned to me, but it nearly took your life. If Tenzi hadn't arrived when he did…"

Sheik watched, wide eyed in surprise as Vaati trailed off and looked away with a pained expression.

And then, it all made sense. Why Vaati had been acting funny since they'd reunited. His refusal to look at him at camp. Why he'd looked so damned guilty.

 _I didn't know_.

No one had told him what had happened at the Seeker camp. He thought he'd simply been knocked out, not that he'd almost died. The idea that their Triforce link had been about to break hadn't even crossed his mind.

Because on some level, he'd assumed, or foolishly hoped, that the link would remain for several years yet.

 _We don't always get the goodbyes we think we deserve._

Seeing that Sheik finally understood the situation, Vaati's glare became softer. He took a deep breath, and then hung his head. "Look, the next time this happens, Tenzi won't be able to stop it."

"I know." It took all of Sheik's effort to admit that much. A firefly landed on the back of his hand. He flicked it away. "He told me he can't fix it." It was a difficult thing to verbalize, since so much of his hope had rested on Tenzi knowing what to do. That perhaps another Triforce holder might know what to do. It was harder still to admit as much in front of Vaati.

He felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Sheik looked up at Vaati, and then turned away, knowing what he was going to say.

"I need to hear from you that you're not going to hesitate," Vaati said his voice rising in response to Sheik's reluctance, "If there comes a time where you need to use the power of the Triforce,"

"Vaati…"

"You are _not_ going to hesitate on my behalf."

Sheik pulled away, throwing his hand off of his shoulder. "Vaati I can't do that."

" _You can and you will!_ " Vaati roared. "We can't go on like this! _I_ can't go on like this! We have our answer, there is _nothing_ that can fix this, and you, _you_ have to accept that!"

"How can you give up like that? _!_ " Sheik shouted back.

"For once in my life I am being pragmatic! Do you know what idealism got me?"

Sheik turned his heel, walking away swiftly.

"Ruin!"

Vaati strode after him. Catching up, he grabbed Sheik's wrist to stop him. The Sheikah whirled around in response, throwing his other first towards the sorcerer's face to punch him. Vaati, expecting something like it from Sheik, dodged the incoming blow. Then, before Sheik could do anything else, he rushed forward and slammed him against a tree.

Sheik winced from his head hitting the rough bark, but his focus quickly returned towards the sorcerer who was glaring at him. He glared back, his own rage and frustration compounded by Vaati's. He was just about to throw the sorcerer onto the ground with one of his disabling maneuvers when Vaati's voice stopped him.

" _Don't make me kill you."_

There was a sharp intake of breath as Sheik stared back at the sorcerer, stunned into silence. The words, a hiss, had been spoken so quietly but with so much force of emotion that he could find nothing to say in response.

Once upon a time, he might have heard those words as a threat; a certain malevolent wind mage toying with his opponent and saying the same words tauntingly.

This time, however, despite the rage and the anger that boiled beneath those words, they had been spoken as a request. A plea.

Sheik's taut expression softened, and his scowl fell into a soft frown as he searched the fierce red eyes that glared back at him. It was full of rage, and even hatred. But it was hatred that stemmed from the path that Sheik had forced him into, and the hatred wouldn't burn so fiercely if he didn't care for him as much as he did.

And then, Sheik became keenly aware of how close they'd become without knowing it, with their noses barely touching, their bangs brushing against each other's skin. He almost wanted to reach out and…

He remembered back to how they'd ended up in a similar position back at the Gerudo Fortress, when Vaati had first regained his memories. At the time, he'd thought that he'd felt the way he did because of fatigue induced delirium: he'd just survived collapsing in the middle of one of the harshest regions of the Gerudo Desert after all.

 _You care about him, don't you?_

But time passed, and he still felt the same. He couldn't imagine going on without him. Couldn't imagine losing him. He'd ended up using the forbidden spell to save him, even when he'd restrained himself from using it when he'd lost his parents. When Vaati had asked him why he'd saved him on top of the castle roof, he hadn't been able bring himself to tell him. Telling him would only burden Vaati more, wouldn't it? And he hadn't really understood how he felt back then. He still didn't, really.

 _Live every day like it's your last. You must go after what you want, or you may regret it for the rest of your life._

Vaati suddenly pulled away, bringing Sheik out of his thoughts. The sorcerer scowled, misunderstanding the Sheikah's silence for something else. Shaking his head, Vaati began to turn away, his brows creased in frustration.

Sheik blinked, and then he lowered his gaze. Tenzi's voice taunted him.

 _Do you really know what it means to go after what you want? Because I don't think you do._

Sheik's head snapped up.

"Wait!"

Reflexively, Sheik reached out, grabbing Vaati by the wrist.

Sheik didn't really know what he was going to do when he stopped Vaati. He didn't really know what to expect. However, he _certainly_ didn't expect Vaati to whirl back around without warning. He felt the sorcerer twist his wrist out of his grip only to grab his own, and then before he knew what was going on, rough lips were suddenly pressed against his into a fervent kiss. Sheik nearly lost balance at the suddenness of it all, but Vaati's grip tightened around his wrist and he was pulled forward forcefully with an arm that had snaked around his waist.

For a moment he tensed, but Vaati's fingers dug deeper and pulled him closer, determined not to let Sheik walk away from him again. All thoughts that had made Sheik hesitate - wondering about how others would look at him, wondering about the appropriateness, wondering about the _consequences_ \- all of those thoughts became a muffled gurgle of insignificance as he finally let go and closed his eyes. Teeth and tongue ran across his bottom lip and the kiss became more demanding, forceful, like it was something that could no longer be restrained.

No longer held back by thoughts, Sheik lifted his free hand, his fingers running through the sorcerer's hair before grasping them. He could feel Vaati's heart beating rapidly against his chest as he was pressed close, and the connection they shared from being soulbound was suddenly excruciating, blinding in its intensity.

The way they hungered for each other - they had starved themselves from feeling anything for the other and now all the walls they had constructed to protect themselves was gone. It was frightening, but in this moment they didn't care. With a swift motion, Sheik twisted free his other hand from Vaati's grip and pulled him closer by the neck.

It wasn't clear who broke away first. When they finally did, they both turned away from each other, regret creeping up along their flushed faces when they realized what they'd done. When his breathing finally slowed, Vaati spoke leadenly.

"This was a mistake…"

Sheik said nothing, but only nodded slowly. He knew, of course, what Vaati meant.

This didn't change the fact that their time was running out.

And it was only going to hurt more when it did.

* * *

 _fleets_ : Not sure if anyone caught it, but this chapter is as Hildavio as it's going to get (… probably). It would have been cool/fun to develop that side, too, but at the end of the day, this story isn't their story. HilZel would also have been fun, but for the same reasons, I didn't think I had enough story space for it (maybe in another story? _!_ ) Now, if I'd had more foresight to have all the characters meet up at an earlier point in the story, it maybe could have worked. But I had no foresight. So here we are (much regret about HilZel/TenSheik because I kind of love them now).

Anyway, we're nearing the end. You know what that means: I've got surprises for you :3  
I recommend preparing with puppies. And maybe health insurance.

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** IF ONLY! If I had more 'story space' I would have loved to play around with it more. Alas, this story is nearing its end. Ahhh, well you know me. I doubt anyone will guess the amount of death that's going to be in this stor- oh. Oh I mean. What? I didn't say nothing. (sorry I love to mess haha)

 **Ai Star:** Ravio might have anxiety, but he's no doormat haha. And if there's any accurate prediction for this story, it's that Vaati's definitely going to have an increasingly bad time :P

 **CatrinSara:** HilZel is great and I. Definitely Ship It.

 **AquilaMage:** Shippy is fun! You know what's more fun? Angst (jk). (But ahhh yeah I really wish I could have written more HilZel/TenSheik. If only I'd planned it better haha that's what I get for letting characters just run off and do their own thing)

 **Cutiecat:** It was hinted that Hilda/Tenzi had a crush on Zelda/Sheik when Shadow talked about them being huge fans. I hope this chapter adds some clarity though: Tenzi could be bold because he knew nothing could happen between them. He actually does like Ravio, but he's actually kind of shy to do anything about it.

 **Icfehr:** uhhhhmmmm not sure where you got Zelda as dress up doll lol. I wanted to do some more relationship building with the characters in the last chapter and this one, since I feel like they've been a little neglected :)

 **Vesperupus:** Don't worry, Tenzi does like Ravio! He's just a little shy about it (you know those people who can be totally bold with people who they know nothing will happen between them, but then when it comes to people who they have a chance with and they care about, they kind of flop? That's Tenzi).

You know I can't answer that, but I think I know my audience well enough by now that I know what kind of conclusions people like or don't like :) (er, at least I think I've gotten better having a gauge of things with my more recent stuff).

So yeah, I think people will be really into it if everyone dies (Im. J. Oking. xD )

 **pickle:** eyyy thank you! And I have a couple more surprises, I hope you're ready!

 **LoZMadLover** : Ahh thank you! And I'm so happy you like Hilda! Hilda/Tenzi's become one of my favorites to write, and had I known that I probably would have tried to write the story so that they could be included earlier. aaand ships. ships are love. ships are pain. send a lifeboat.


	20. Nightmare

_fleets_ : I couldn't leave the story where it ended last chapter! I just couldn't!

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Nightmare**

The plan was to move out early in the morning, even before the sun was up over the horizon. Everyone had gone to sleep fairly early so that they would be able to wake up rested in the morning. Hilda and Ravio had fallen asleep earlier than anyone. Sheik and Vaati had eventually returned to camp to find Shadow waiting for them obediently like Hilda had asked, and the shade couldn't hide his inquisitive gaze as he looked from one to the other, wondering what had happened. Because it was very obvious something _had_ happened, and from the way they walked into camp without exchanging a single word with a difficult expression on their faces, it couldn't have been anything good. At least, neither of them looked happy with each other, and both looked like they wanted to pretend the other didn't exist. And before Shadow could say anything, they'd gone off separately to retire, leaving him alone once again.

He was the only one who hadn't been able to fall asleep. Feeling restless, Shadow Link was having difficulty closing his eyes, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fall asleep. He tried for a few hours, and eventually gave up and decided to walk around for a bit instead.

He got up, careful not to disturb the others who were nearby. Both Sheik and Tenzi seemed to have had no trouble sleeping, or, at least they had their eyes closed. Maybe they were more used to taking a moment's rest if the opportunity presented itself, given the nature of their Sheikah training. Shadow didn't stick around long enough to check for the other two in the dark, eager as he was to move away where he wouldn't bother anyone awake.

It wasn't too long, however, when he realized that he'd been wrong: he hadn't been the only one who'd had trouble falling asleep. A few steps towards the entrance of the cave, and he encountered a figure leaning against the rocky wall, their shoulders hunched over and their hood thrown over their head.

 _Master Vaati._

Shadow frowned, and then quickly began to tiptoe in the other direction. Although he and his old master were on much better terms after Vaati became 'Fuu,' he was still a little uneasy about being left with him alone, especially without Sheik, Ravio, or Tenzi as a mediator. While it was easy to joke and poke fun at the sorcerer when they were surrounded by others, it wasn't always easy to pretend they were equals given their past dynamic.

He considered Vaati a friend, in a sense, but at the same time that old history of servitude was always going to be difficult to ignore completely. 'Fuu' was a friend. The old 'Master Vaati' was… not. The individual now who was a combination of the two, well, Shadow supposed it was something weird in between. No matter how many times this new Vaati told him to stop thinking of him as 'Master,' it wasn't just some kind of switch that Shadow could turn on or off at will. Vaati didn't get it. He hadn't been the one who'd spent every day grinning and teasing to hide the fear.

To be honest, the two of them hadn't really spoken to each other after Vaati had, well, become 'Vaati' instead of 'Fuu.' Sure they had exchanged updates about what Sheik and Impa were doing, or about what kind of place Lorule was, but those conversations were the kind of "Hi, how are you," conversations that didn't have a lot of depth. Shadow was fine navigating those conversations. He was good at keeping light conversations going, to throw a jab here and a witty remark there, but he didn't know how to talk to Vaati like he could with Tenzi or Sheik.

And so, Shadow tried to sneak away and prayed that Vaati would also leave him alone until morning.

Unfortunately for Shadow, Vaati had always been good at knowing when the shade was slinking about. "Shadow Link."

Shadow winced at the crisp voice that cut through the air, and he slowly turned around with a face of one who'd stepped in mud with white socks. His shoulders rose and fell in a sigh, and then he slowly dragged himself back to where Vaati was. He waited patiently for Vaati to say something, his hands clasped behind his back subserviently and he held himself back from fidgeting too much.

Old habits were hard to break.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Vaati asked. Then, he finally turned his head to look at Shadow with a surprised expression on his face, not expecting to be met with a scene that looked like something from the past when Shadow still waited on him for orders. He raised his brow and then sat down on the ground, and somewhat irritably motioned for Shadow to sit as well when the shade returned an equally puzzled look. "Well don't just stand there looking so nervous, you'll keep me up all night, too," Vaati grumbled.

Shadow blinked, staring at his old master who had sat down cross legged on the ground in front of him. Vaati had never spoken to him simply for conversation. Fuu had. Sometimes. But Vaati? Never. He only spoke to him whenever he wanted something from Shadow, or to yell at him.

He sat down as well, still puzzled. This would have been where he usually said something snarky, but he was so surprised that he couldn't find anything witty to say.

This didn't go unnoticed by the sorcerer. "You're awfully agreeable today," Vaati observed, his eyebrow still raised.

"And you're as chatty as ever," Shadow shot, though it was weak in comparison to his usual barbs.

Shadow had expected some kind of retort from the easily annoyed wind mage, but Vaati instead seemed to consider Shadow's words seriously. _Ooookay something is definitely wrong here._ He took a closer look at the sorcerer, whose face was mostly hidden by his cowl. However, when he caught a glimpse of his face, he could see that his eyes were dim and unfocused, like he was lost in some faraway thoughts.

"I suppose I am," Vaati mused, "Though I don't feel particularly inspired for any of my usual monologues."

"… Is this the part where I sock you in the face so we can get you back to normal, monologuing Master Vaati?"

"Ha! As a good servant should."

Shadow Link wrinkled his nose. Vaati agreeing to be punched? That wasn't quite the response he'd been expecting. "No offense, but you are starting to creep me out Master Vaati. Actually," he said flatly, "offense fully intended."

Again, out of character, Vaati made no indication of being upset by Shadow's comments. Instead, he hung his head with a small, bitter smile on his face. He picked up a pebble from the ground and absentmindedly rolled it between his fingers. "I've been thinking about things. About the future. About the past. About things that I should have done. About things that I need to do. To say," he said thoughtfully. He set the pebble back down, and then picked it back up while Shadow continued to watch him with a patient but quizzical look on his face. Eventually, Vaati said quietly, "Shadow, I am no longer your master."

Shadow stared at Vaati for a few seconds. Then, a dismissive smile cracked on his face. "Oh please," he said, waving his hand exaggeratedly, "You know I only call you that now out of nostalgia and all the _good times we had_." His voice wavered a little at the last line, trying to hide the sarcasm. "I don't take it seriously, I use the term endearingly if anything Master Vaati!"

"And you should know by now that I can tell when you're lying."

That shut him up quick. The smile that had been too wide instantly vanished, and then Shadow lowered his gaze.

It was true: Master Vaati had always been uncannily good at knowing when he was lying. He could rarely, if ever, hide things from him.

Vaati continued in his same, even tone. "The things I did to you aren't things one simply forgets."

"Can you please just, go back to being annoyed? Or angry?" Shadow complained. He could have gotten up and left, but something compelled him to stay. He wanted to leave, though. He didn't want to think about what it had been like with Vaati, when Vaati had been _Vaati_. The things he'd been made to do, to put up with, even the circumstances of his existence… he'd almost believed that he had no worth as a person. It wasn't until he'd met Sheik, met the "cooler Master Vaati," that he'd realized that he was worth something.

Things were different now. He didn't need to revisit his past to when he regularly had the shit beat out of him for the smallest mistakes. He was too tired to hold a grudge against Master Vaati, though admittedly he'd been so conditioned to serve him that he probably couldn't hold a grudge towards his old master if he tried. All he wanted to do right now was to forget this entire conversation and joke around. Make fun of people. Laugh.

"Shadow. I'm sorry."

For the second time, Shadow stared, completely at a loss for words. He looked at Vaati, his expression full of skepticism as he peered at the sorcerer's face.

Vaati looked back unflinchingly.

This time, Shadow began to feel a bubble of irritation float up in his chest. All this time, all this time he'd worked so hard to suppress any kind of bitterness he felt towards the sorcerer. He'd trained himself not to feel resentment, because Vaati always made sure that resentful servants were punished. For Vaati to apologize now, it was like a slap in the face. "Haha… hahaha! Wow. Wow, this is rich. The Sorcerer of Winds, apologizing? This isn't real, is it?" He asked. He leaned forward where he sat with a wide grin, which was gradually twisting into a sneer. Then, he stuck his tongue out, again making an effort to dismiss what Vaati was saying. "Pffft, I never even asked for an apology. Ya think I let that get to me? That it bothered me? No! Ravio and I, we're smiling, aren't we?"

"I'm simply saying I regret what I did, knowing you both now."

"Well I never asked for an apology and I don't need-"

"No. You do," Vaati cut him off shortly. This time, Shadow didn't even bother trying to hide his bitterness.

"Oh yeah? Sounds like maybe _you_ need to, but don't make this about _me_."

"Fine."

Vaati didn't press further, allowing Shadow to figure out his own feelings on the matter. The sorcerer turned his attention away, and instead looked wistfully up at the stars. He made no motion to leave while Shadow struggled to understand what had just happened.

The apology had been so blunt but so genuine. It completely went against everything Shadow knew to be true of Master Vaati's character, and that, that frightened him more than anything. It meant that something was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. And no one was telling him about it.

"Look… Master Vaati I… what's all this about, huh?" he chuckled nervously after a while. "Everyone's been acting kind of funny, like… like they all expect that we're not gonna make it after tomorrow or something. It's scaring me," he added with another shaky laugh.

Vaati continued to look at the stars, lost in their soft glow. He leaned back and lay across the ground, propping his hands on the back of his head. "To be perfectly honest," he said in a lazy drawl that seemed too deliberate to be genuinely carefree, "We're probably not."

Shadow shot up. "You can't say that!" he shouted.

"Shut up you idiot, you'll wake the others," Vaati grimaced, glancing at Shadow with an annoyed look on his face before he went back to staring at the stars.

"I'll shut up if you tell me we're gonna win!" Shadow snarled, no longer bothering to hide his disapproval. "You _always_ say we'll win. _Always_. Even for your dumbest, most suicidal plans you always tell us that we're going to win, and you've always been that way!"

"Well maybe I finally learned a few things."

Shadow got up on his feet and stomped over to where Vaati lay sprawled out on the ground. He towered over him and pointed a shaking finger at Vaati's nose.

He didn't want to believe it. He refused to believe it. He'd been feeling uneasy earlier because he'd sensed that this time they'd lost Vaati's confidence, but for his old master to actually say out loud that this was probably going to be the last time everyone could be together, that was too much. He gritted his teeth. "I hated your guts at times, Master Vaati, but if there was anything I admired about you it was your confidence."

"Confidence, stubborn idiocy," Vaati drawled. He tilted his head, trying to get a better view of the sky where Shadow Link blocked it.

"Say we're going to win, goddesses damn it, we can't do this without-"

"You have to."

With a sigh, Vaati propped himself up on his elbows. He gave a stern nod of his chin, a silent order for Shadow to move out of the way. For a moment Shadow looked like he wasn't going to listen, but the cold severity with which Vaati looked at him was enough for him to step aside and sit back down next to the sorcerer. "It would do you well for you to stop relying on me so much," Vaati said once Shadow was sitting again. "As I said, I've been thoughtful lately. Dying once tends to do that to a person."

Shadow Link sighed, hugging his knees to himself. "It just… it just feels like you think we're going to…"

 _It feels like you're ready to die._

He couldn't bring himself to say the words out loud, so instead Shadow brought his knees closer.

In contrast, Vaati sounded resigned, like he'd already come to terms with the fact that not everyone might make it in the coming battles. His voice was smooth and cold in its logic, with a finality in the words that suggested that nothing was going to change his mind regarding their fate. "It's a possibility. Rationally speaking, I am not much of a fighter without magic," he admitted easily, a sharp contrast to how he used to deny any of his shortcomings vehemently. His expression became shadowed when he added, "My magic simply isn't an option right now."

"Yeah, but. Against all odds you always say you're unbeatable. Fuck, you would go fight the goddesses themselves if you could. I just…" Shadow shook his head helplessly. "If you can't win, then what can someone like me possibly do?"

"And that is exactly why I wanted to apologize to you. To Ravio, too, if he were awake."

A blanket of silence fell over them again. Vaati, quiet because he'd said everything he'd needed to say. Shadow, mute from the shock of trying to process everything. Shadow looked at Vaati lying next to him, his red eyes turned back towards the stars again with that same, faraway stare.

Shadow didn't understand his feelings right now. It was anger, sadness, betrayal and joy all rolled into one confused mess. He'd never expected to hear from Master Vaati the words that undid everything he'd made Shadow believe about himself. He was worth something.

But he'd never wanted to hear it in this context.

"None of us are going to die tomorrow, right?" Shadow asked again. His voice was desperate and pleading. "Not you, not Sheik, not Ravio, not Tenzi? Right?"

"And what did I _just_ say about relying on me too much?" Vaati rolled his eyes. A tiny, poignant smile played on his lips. "Imbecile."

Shadow looked at him flatly. Then, he covered his face with a tired hand "Fuck," he murmured, a sad smile twisting upwards. He took a deep breath and then threw both hands in the air exasperatedly. "Fine then, you fuck head," he suddenly snapped, causing a red eye to swivel in his direction slowly. Shadow continued loudly. "No one's dying tomorrow, ya got that? No one. And if you keep saying shit like the shit you've been saying I'm going to take your batty black tentacled ass and fucking punt you into the sun."

Vaati blinked, eyes wide by the end of Shadow's rant, and he stared at the trembling finger that was pointed in his direction.

No one had ever dared talk to him like that before.

A crooked grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. Before long, he'd thrown his head back and was laughing loudly, his chest heaving as he tried to breathe between laughs. It was contagious, and even Shadow Link ended up with snickers that eventually turned into hiccups.

"You'll wake the others, you stupid grape," he wheezed when their laughter had died down. Beside him, Vaati had already calmed down and had gone back to staring up at the sky again. The only sign that his observation of the stars had been interrupted was the grin that was still on his face.

The sorcerer shook his head, his brows curling with a somber arch. "You fool," he whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Few words were exchanged in the morning when Princess Hilda, now Tenzi again, led them out towards Agunima's hideout. It was still dark out, the sky a dull black with stars dotting the sky, but it was gradually becoming lighter with the orange-yellow glow of the Dark World. Their faces hidden behind Ravio's animal masks, the group quickly and quietly made their way towards an increasingly hilly landscape. Thankfully they ran into no trouble during their journey. About half an hour later, Tenzi stopped just in front of a rocky overhang on the underside of a cliff. From there, they could see in the distance a large imposing fortress sitting atop more hills. The Eastern Palace, Tenzi called it. Now that it had been taken over by Agunima, word was that people now referred to it as the Dark Palace.

Sheik kept watch for potential ambushes while behind him, the others got ready for the bomb. He was peering into the dim light of early morning when he felt something brush against his shoulder. He jerked away reflexively, and then realized that it was only Vaati who'd come to join him while he waited for the others. The sorcerer stood close, closer than usual. Close enough for it to be a statement.

Sheik smiled to himself behind the white rat mask that he wore, and went back to his watch. Beside him, Vaati, too, continued to stare out at the horizon silently. He almost looked like a foreboding wizzrobe, with his hood pulled over his head and black crow's mask covering his face. They remained like that in resigned but resolute silence. They still hadn't come to any sort of settlement regarding the argument the night before, but both knew that there was nothing more that could be said to change each other's mind. The only thing they could do now was to wait for events to unfold.

The other three worked quickly, practiced in what they had to do. Shadow Link shot an arrow at a hidden switch above the rocky overhang, and the ground rumbled as a passageway suddenly appeared where before there had been a solid wall of rock and dirt. Sheerow flew ahead towards the base in the distance for one last confirmation that their target was indeed in the base.

Ravio produced an enormous bombchu from his bag and started getting ready with the remote that controlled the mobile bomb. And he hadn't been kidding when he'd said it was big. The bombchu was larger than Shadow Link's mega bomb, which was roughly eight feet in diameter at least, and Sheik was already familiar with Shadow Link's bomb's destructive power. He couldn't help but take an uneasy step away when the bombchu whirred to life under Ravio's command, its large, round blue ears and bright bulging yellow eyes making it look more frightening than anything.

It hadn't been more than fifteen minutes when Sheerow returned and landed atop Tenzi's hand. Upon the return of Ravio's companion bird, the others exchanged one last, determined glance with each other.

Agunima was indeed at the fortress. They were really going to do this.

Sheik held his breath as he watched the bombchu whip around towards the opening in the wall, and then disappear down the tunnel that Shadow Link had dug. So far, everything seemed to be going according to plan. With any luck, they wouldn't even have to confront Agunima, because he would be blown to bits by the bomb.

Were things so easy.

"What in Farore?"

Fifteen minutes later, Ravio's exclamation sent the others gathering around him, wondering what was the matter. When the rabbit hooded boy began to fumble nervously with his remote, Sheik knew that something bad had happened.

"It's stuck. It's stuck, I can't move it," Ravio mumbled under his breath, nearly dropping the remote in his nervousness. He'd been doing surprisingly well with his anxiety up until now, but the new upset was making him almost fall apart again. Earlier, Tenzi had offered Ravio to stay behind but the boy had been determined to see this through, regardless of his anxiety. He turned the remote over in his jittery hands even while knowing that the problem wasn't with the remote. It took Tenzi gently but firmly shaking his shoulders for him to snap out if it momentarily to explain what had happened.

"Look, this dot," he said, pointing to the faintly glowing dot on what appeared to be a navigational map on the remote. "That's the bombchu, but it looks stuck. It's not moving anymore. I'm trying to get it to go forward but it w-won't move. It still has about thirty feet to go."

"A malfunction?" Tenzi asked, trying to keep Ravio calm by his level voice. It seemed to work a little, and Ravio took a deep breath, taking a moment and collect himself.

"I don't know. I can't know unless I actually go and see…" he looked at the dark tunnel with dread.

"Well it's only thirty feet away from the target. Isn't it close enough?" Vaati asked. "Let's just blow it up now."

Tenzi, however, shook his head in disagreement. "No, we won't get another shot like this. I don't want to take chances on 'close enough.'" He looked towards the tunnel, quickly going over their options. Finally, he turned back towards the group. "It's not a long walk down the tunnel, yes? We can check what went wrong, push it to the final location if we have to, and then leave so we can detonate it remotely." He held out a hand towards Ravio. "We'll be okay. I'll make sure of it."

Ravio chuckled nervously. He hesitated at the offered hand, and looked uneasily at the tunnel entrance and then back towards the others who had a similar look of unease. While the task that remained was simple enough, being stuck in a narrow tunnel with a bomb that could level an entire castle wasn't something anyone would ever want to do. However…

Tenzi was right. If they were going to do it, they needed to do it right. He didn't want to regret it if the detonation didn't damage the fortress as much as it was supposed to, and Agunima and the Seekers managed to escape. Besides, this wouldn't even take an hour: it was about a ten to fifteen-minute walk, a five to ten-minute run, to where the bombchu had gotten stuck, and if he couldn't fix it then they could just push the remaining thirty feet and be on their way.

"Here," Ravio said as he took Tenzi's offered hand. He passed the remote towards the Seeker, and when Tenzi looked at him questioningly, he explained with an embarrassed laugh, "You should hold onto it. I don't… I don't trust myself not to accidentally press the trigger early."

"It'd be kind of silly if Ravio blows us all up, wouldn't it?" Shadow joked. There was a muffled "Ow!" when Sheik walked over and bopped him across the head.

The Sheikah was the first to step into the tunnel. "Let us hurry," he said. Without further objections, the others followed after him quickly.

The tunnel was blindingly dark, but Shadow Link had dug fairly straight from their starting point to the fortress so it wasn't too difficult to navigate. The darkness forced them to take their animal masks off as it was even harder to see with them on. Sheik led the way, followed closely behind by Tenzi, and the two shadow warriors lit the path with a dim magic light that flickered in their palms, shining a path for those that tailed them. From time to time Sheik looked uneasily behind him, feeling exposed from not wearing the masks that protected them against a gossip stone's watchful gaze.

He didn't think there were any gossip stones anywhere inside the tunnel that Shadow Link had dug (that would be strange), but he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling about what they would find when they ran into the bombchu. Something about this reeked, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Logically, it made little sense that the Seekers had anything to do with the bombchu's halted progress: after all, why in the world would they stop the bomb just barely beneath their fortress? Though the damage wouldn't be as substantial as when the bomb made it to the intended location, it would still be enough to cause significant casualties on their side.

Most likely he was being paranoid from nerves. It was probably just a malfunction, or something obstructing the bombchu's path, like a large root that had gnarled its way across the tunnel.

"There!" Sheik heard Shadow exclaim behind him, and he saw a figure dart past him towards the lump sitting in the path in front of them.

And then, without warning, Shadow skidded to a stop.

As Sheik and the others caught up to him, the Sheikah noticed that the bombchu, for one, was facing the wrong way. Rather than facing deeper into the tunnel, it was facing their direction, with the yellow lights of its "eyes" shining towards them. That wasn't the most unnerving part of it, however.

There was someone standing next to the bombchu.

He heard Tenzi curse hoarsely next to him as they joined Shadow. "Damn it…"

"You thought you came this far on your own, princess?"

Sheik tensed, and his fingers immediately darted towards his daggers. The voice was male, rugged with hatred so aged that every syllable was thick with it. The figure stepped forward, holding out some severed wires which had once been a part of the now-immobilized bombchu. Based on the silhouette revealed from the light of the bombchu's eyes, Sheik recognized the man who had attacked Vaati back at Hyrule castle many weeks ago. The man wasn't very memorable, in that his hunched posture and the way he seemed to be able to naturally hide in shadows tricked the eyes to disregard him. However, Sheik would never forget that powerful, predatory intent that seemed to exude from this man.

Agunima.

"You came here because I _wanted_ you here. Here, you will die, and I'll take that power of yours that you are so inclined to waste," the Seeker grand master said slowly. He barely acknowledged Vaati who had stepped forward next to Sheik, which seemed to further enrage the sorcerer. Vaati was barely holding together under his rising temper.

As the robed man shifted his weight, Tenzi held out the remote in front of him. "Any sudden moves, and I blow all of us up right now."

"Wait. What?" Shadow asked twisting his head around with wide eyes at the Seeker. Tenzi ignored him and continued with unflinching calmness.

"I would gladly sacrifice us all if it means I can save my kingdom from a monster like you."

Agunima, however, only laughed, a sinister chuckle that drowned out Shadow Link's urgent whispers questioning if Tenzi was joking. "I have been called that and worse, but I'm simply doing what you never had the mettle to do, to free us from the prison we've been bound to."

"This is madness and you know it!" Tenzi shouted, "You intend to destroy the world-"

"Remake it."

"The Seekers can't truly want this!"

The light shining towards them from the bombchu made it impossible to see Agunima's expression, but the man straightened from his crouch in a way that could only be described as menacing. "You can't possibly understand our history when you were never of our blood," he hissed.

Sheik watched the conversation between the Seeker grand master and Tenzi, holding his breath. He saw Tenzi wince from Agunima's words, and it was then that he realized that the relationship Tenzi had had with Agunima may not have been all that different as his and Impa's. Until now, Tenzi had dismissed talk of his past with Agunima like he didn't care for the man, but Sheik understood now that it had been the opposite. He cared too much.

He'd been his advisor. Guardian. Family.

All one sided.

The tragedy of the situation was unbearable.

"But I tire this conversation with you. We've exchanged these words before," Agunima said gruffly, and the man's silhouette stalked to the other side of the bombchu. Despite Tenzi's earlier claim that he would press the trigger with any movement, the bomb never detonated.

"I used to look up to you. But you've changed. That mask changed you," Tenzi said, his earlier determination breaking. There was one last plea in the tremor of his voice, begging his old mentor to stop and listen.

"I always tried to tell you that you become attached too easily. You never did listen."

There was no sympathy in the sand worn timber of the other's voice. Chiding and bitter, it was the complete opposite of Impa's stern but warm guidance. "At the end, we were finally able to agree on one thing. This bomb. Allow me to detonate it for you."

Tenzi nearly dropped the remote in his hands, horrified. "But if you do that then you… your men in the fortress…"

"Attached too easily," the man cut him off dismissively. "You would only come here yourselves if you thought there was no possibility I would blow this up myself."

Sheik looked sharply towards the others who were watching Agunima, dumbfounded by his declaration that he'd intended to blow up his fortress and himself from the start. A bead of sweat rolled down his nose as his mind raced for options. There was no time to run, the explosion would reach them before they could make it to safety. All they could really do, then, was…

Sheik dashed towards the silhouette, a knife in one hand. He lunged towards the figure with blinding speed, aiming for a lethal hit in the neck.

 _Clang!_

Sheik felt himself flung backwards, some kind of force field deflecting him away. His shoulders skidded across the ground and he shook his head, disoriented, while the others quickly rushed to support him. He lifted his head towards Agunima, and then his eyes widened when he saw someone, no, some _thing_ that he could barely recognize as human anymore.

From where he was on the ground, the light from the bombchu's eyes was no longer angled in a way that it blinded him, and he could see the features of the Seeker grand master. Agunima's face was completely covered by the demonic, stone carved face of the Fused Shadow, and unlike the first time Sheik had seen him, it was almost like the eye carved into the stone was the thing that was looking at him. The man's hands were exposed from beneath his heavy cape now, as he'd pushed it aside to deflect Sheik's attack.

But… they were no longer normal hands. His sleeves no longer fit his arms, which had become bulky and monstrous, and they were ripped near the shoulder. His skin had turned an oily black all the way up past his elbows, and there were cracks where they pulsed with the deep yellow glow of the Dark World sky. His fingers were long, claw-like, like Vaati's monster form.

And then there were the eyes. The blank, staring white eyes with cold black centers that he'd hoped he would never see ever again. They were embedded along his monstrous arm, and they stared back at him with the terrible curiosity that the Nightmare creature once had.

Those were Dethl's eyes.

More chilling, Agunima's mannerisms seemed to take on a characteristic that was horrifyingly familiar. His voice reverberated from within the confines of the Fused Shadow, the depths of his madness unraveling before them.

" _We will survive, thanks to the power we now yield. You, however, will not."_ He tapped the bombchu. Something clicked.

" _Goodbye."_

Time seemed to slow. Those last moments were painfully vivid as the world stopped. Sheik wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he remembered feeling someone grab him roughly by the arm. Vaati fell on top of him, shielding him as light began to burst from the gigantic bomb.

And then he felt himself falling, melting almost, into the light. Vaati had disappeared, but though he could no longer see him he could somehow still feel his hands touching his. It was a strange feeling, and though his first instinct would have been to fight the sensation of being pulled into the unknown, he allowed himself to be pulled. It almost felt like… he was being guided back home. To the Light World.

But then he snapped his head towards the others. _Wait,_ he thought, as the light from the bomb became brighter and brighter. He could see in striking clarity the fearful expressions on Shadow Link and Ravio's face as they brought their hands up to shield themselves. He saw every detail of the muscles in their face as they looked his way with their wide blue-green eyes. The two of them reached out towards him when they saw him disappearing.

 _Wait, we're leaving them behind,_ Sheik thought, fighting back now to reach his friends. The light around him, however, continue to pull him further into the glow. _We can't leave them behind!_

He saw Tenzi, slowly falling backwards as the explosion knocked him off of his feet. In slow motion, Sheik saw him, his alternate half, the one who'd lived a life that might have been his if he'd been born in the Dark World instead, turn towards him as he fell.

Their eyes met.

It was very likely that Sheik had imagined it, considering how quickly everything had happened, but in his hyperaware state he thought he'd seen it.

He wished he hadn't.

Because in that instant he knew. He'd seen the corners of Tenzi's eyes soften into one of resignation, and he remembered the conversation he'd had with him about unexpected partings. The message was clear, and he could almost hear the Seeker's regretful chuckle.

 _Bye Sheik._

And then, everything vanished in one, deafening explosion.

* * *

 _fleets_ : My hobbies include writing and murdering fictional characters.  
(cackles) But ohhh, everyone was wondering about whether Sheik or Vaati was going to be my next victim that I don't know if anyone actually expected the real targets were everyone _else._

If I butter you guys up with some nice fluffy character bonding, you should be suspicious about my motivations cause I'm probably about to roast things :D

Completely understand if you get mad at me for my behavior. That said, I hope you'll let me explain myself at the very end. You know me, you know the drill. Do you still trust me? ;)

 **Icfehr:** My dude, thank you so much for always being here, no matter how long I take ;u;  
I'm not sure I know what you're referencing regarding power drain or finesse (?), is it about Shadow/Ravio?  
And yes, we're definitely near the end! Probably 3ish chapters, I think? I'll definitely miss it for sure when it ends.

 **Reily96:** I'LL ALWAYS HAVE AN EMPTY SEAT WAITING FOR YOU. (pats seat). And it's not late if it's fashionable.

(will admit that I had thoughts to make that last scene pwp naughty for no good reason. I ended up listening to the rational half of my brain). And ahhhh thanks a bundle ;u;. I always, always enjoy reading your comments and I always imagine your avatar running back and forth across my screen yelling in all caps :D

 **AquilaMage:** In the initial draft Shadow Link was going to wander over and completely interrupt them before anything happened buuut I don't think I could have handled that haha (they gotta kiss dammit)

"Several near-deaths." Oh how right you were. Kind of. (whistles nervously).


	21. Courage

_fleets_ : …

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Courage**

 _Don't get so attached to people, princess._

 _A person such as yourself will have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes what you want and what you need to do will not align. An unbiased ruler, then, must maintain a certain distance from others._

 _Remember the pain when you lost your parents. Did your feelings help you when you shut yourself in your room in grief? The world does not care for your troubles. You must continue on._

 _Do not think of them as people. They are numbers to move on a spreadsheet, nothing more. Losses are nothing when you think of the net gains._

 _Friends?_

 _Friends do not exist in our world, Princess Hilda._

…

To my dearest friends.

I do not think you know how much being able to write those words mean to me. For years I have lived with the lie that one such as myself cannot have anyone to call friends. I was young, impressionable, and around the time the Seeker by the name Agunima arrived at the castle, I was but a broken child seeking someone, anyone, to fill the void of my recently deceased parents.

Insecure about my own abilities to oversee a kingdom I was not ready to rule, I ignored my own intuitions in favor of the opinions of someone who held nothing but resentment for the world I loved. Their confidence and poise, and their accumulated life experience allowed me to trust them. I saw nothing wrong with their logic, and I believed their promises to protect me from feeling the same pain I felt when I lost the ones closest to me. I isolated myself from others, and thus was able to rule with methodological efficiency. Decisions boiled down to gains and losses. Numbers were always logical. Stripped away of illogical empathy, numbers always showed what was right and what was wrong.

How could I have known that this advice came from a man who'd long since lost the ability to feel compassion, a bitter husk of a creature who no longer knew what it meant to be human?

I met the two of you about a year ago, falling over yourselves as you tried to run from the guards who were trying to catch you. You were loud, obnoxious, and behaving inappropriately in the castle grounds of the Princess herself. To be honest, that was probably the first time I'd laughed in a while, when Ravio stubbed his toe on a crack and accidentally fell into my arms. The rabbit outfit was the most ridiculous thing I'd seen in months, and Shadow's reaction to seeing me (and I hadn't known at the time that another friend of theirs looked exactly like me) had been priceless.

At first, I was going to agree to charge you a fine for trespassing, as well as punish you for causing a scene and giving my guards trouble. However, laughing at your loud introductions stirred something in me. You carried a light that the entire kingdom had forgotten after years of my rule.

You said there was a monster, a Nightmare, that threatened my kingdom. You said I needed a hero. The two of you were going to be my heroes.

I remember how the two of you joked about it, still not realizing I'd been considering throwing you into the jail for a few days. Or, maybe you knew, but you didn't care because that's just how the two of you are.

You left. I didn't think much of it, though from time to time I thought about the two troublemakers who'd come crashing into my castle. Then you came back. You were heroes. My heroes, in more ways than one.

You challenged everything I'd been made to believe after years and years of self-imposed isolation. We butted heads more than once when we didn't see eye to eye about how I ran my kingdom. In the beginning I was annoyed by you both: what could you possibly know about ruling a kingdom, and what nerve you had to keep coming back to the castle to argue with me?

I ended up giving you the key to the spare barracks so you could live on the castle grounds. I'd told myself it was to stop you from distracting the guards posted at the front gates, since they never seemed to be able to stop you from visiting me unannounced anyway.

It turns out you _did_ know something about ruling a kingdom. Or, you knew those who had such knowledge. At first, your stories were difficult for me to believe. Apparently there was a princess just like me, living a world over, and she was one of your best friends. People loved her. She ruled with compassion, and though she sometimes hurt herself from caring too much about her people, it…

It made her a better ruler because of it.

I wanted to know more about her. She did everything I was taught not to do, and yet somehow, listening to your tales, she sounded happier than I was. She had goofy friends like you.

And it turns out that at one point, the two of you and her had been enemies, but somehow you ended up friends. You said she'd given the two of you a chance, even when you'd never expected her to and she had no reason to trust you. Apparently she'd even made friends with a horrible, evil sorcerer who'd nearly ruined her kingdom. You described him as grouchy but fun to tease. Fierce, but fiercely loyal. The way you talked about them both was so endearing, I almost felt like I'd known them for years myself.

Had I been in her position, I would have had the sorcerer executed without a second thought. I would have missed out on his friendship…

You told me stories about them. I don't know when it happened, but at some point I was looking forward to your visits and stories daily. I wanted to know more about you. I wanted to know more about them. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I actually felt like life had a purpose. I didn't even know I'd been so lost until I realized what I had been missing for all of these years.

I want to catch up on all the years of friendship I'd missed. I want to make up all the time I'd wasted, pushing people away. I want to bring back the light I'd stolen and return it to my people in the way you'd brought it back for me. I want to be friends with Zelda, Vaati, and dozens of others who I haven't met yet.

I was never fond of wishes, as at their core they're usually selfish things that often lead to disappointment.

However, just this once, if I could indulge myself with a wish…

I wish for adventures, the five of us camping on the peaks of Death Mountain. We are the first to see the sunrise, standing at the peak of the world.

I wish for lazy afternoons, lying in the fields beyond the castle as we find shapes in the clouds.

I wish for idle conversations on the rooftops of the town, making up stories for the people who pass below us.

If I could have one wish, and have it come true,

I want to take the time that I have left, and spend it all with you.

…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"…eik… t…p."

Sheik groaned, slowly trying to open his eyes and then shutting them again when a piercing headache shot through his skull. The ground shook and rumbled beneath him, but his hearing was muffled. He brought a hand up to his splitting headache, and then felt cracked stone and dirt roll off of his arm.

 _Huh?_

He stared at his dirt-covered arm for a few seconds, dazed, and he tried to remember what had happened. They'd gone down the tunnel to move the bombchu. They'd met Agunima.

The explosion.

"Sheik… Get up."

His hearing was slowly coming back, though everything was still a little muffled, and there was a ringing buzz in the background that he couldn't shake as the world gradually became filled with sound. If it hadn't been for that light that had pulled him away, he didn't doubt that he would have completely lost his hearing. Well, his life, too.

"We have… to get out of here."

He felt someone pull at his arm. Vaati. Cuts and scrapes ran along his face, and pieces of his clothes were torn from being sliced with jagged rocks that had hit him from the blast. He was hunched over a little: he'd done something to his hip. Some exposed parts of his face looked mildly burned, and Sheik realized that places where his own skin was exposed felt a little hot.

Sheik tried to stand up but was forced back down when there was resistance from his right foot, and pain registered from the movement. His leg had gotten crushed beneath debris. "Damn it," he heard Vaati hiss between his teeth, and the two of them worked to free his leg from beneath the chunks of rock and hard soil that had been blown up into the air from the bombchu.

He tried to stand up once he was able to free himself from beneath the rubble, but a sharp pain shot through his foot once again. Luckily, it didn't appear broken, but it had been sprained quite badly.

"Here, I got you." Vaati helped support his weight while Sheik looked around at their surroundings in a shocked stupor. There was a wide radius of destruction, with large pieces of rock and wall, dirt and splintered trees scattered every which way. The ground had been completely leveled, and further beyond there was what remained of the fortress: only about a quarter of it had survived the blast, though "survive" could only be used loosely here. Most of the foundation was gone, and broken pieces of walls jutted out from the ground here and there. Broken roofs burned where they'd fallen. Through the lifting dust of the blast, Sheik could see a few surviving Seekers running about in a panic in the distance, though Agunima himself was nowhere in sight.

"The others…?" Sheik asked hoarsely, while Vaati rummaged about his person to look for any bottles of red potion. The sorcerer swore to himself when he produced some broken glass between his fingers. The potions hadn't made it.

"Vaati, what happened to the others?" Sheik repeated.

There was a small intake of breath and Vaati froze. He lifted his head slightly, about to look at Sheik to respond, but turned away when he was unable to look him in the eye. Instead, the sorcerer pulled him gently forward from where he supported his weight, and the two of them slowly began to limp away from the destruction. After a while, Vaati answered, though by that time Sheik already knew what he was going to say.

"The ability I used, it's called light walking. Only Light Worlders can use it," Vaati explained. His breath caught in his throat. His voice was hollow. "I couldn't save them."

Vaati was speaking, but Sheik couldn't understand what he was saying. Images flashed in his head, of Shadow and Ravio reaching towards him. Tenzi's resigned smile. _We can't leave them behind._

Another tug on his arm. He'd stopped walking, and Vaati was urging him forward, though the sorcerer himself didn't seem to have much energy left. "I got us as far away as I could take us. We have to go before he finds us."

"… We can't."

Vaati looked at the Sheikah, his forehead knitted together questioningly when Sheik pulled back.

"We can't just run away," Sheik insisted.

At this, Vaati's expression softened, and he turned away with a sigh. "I know," he said quietly.

"We have to go back…"

"But for what?"

"For the others."

Vaati slid away from under Sheik's arms that he'd been supporting, and moved to stand in front of him. With great effort, he placed his hands firmly on the other's shoulders again. "They're gone, Sheik," he said, forcing his words not to crack. It pained him to see Sheik hanging on to denial, his face ashen and his eyes unfocused. Vaati bit his cracked lips. "They're dead." In his effort to hide the tremor in his voice, he ended up sounding angry.

There was a sudden flash behind them, and the two whirled around. Atop the rubble in the middle of the worst of the damage, stood a cloaked figure. Agunima. Of course he'd survived. However, both Vaati and Sheik's attention were turned towards the body that swayed in the man's grip. It hung limp like a rag as the Agunima held it out in front of him by their wrist. Something was glowing faintly on the lifeless body's hand.

"Tenzi?" Sheik stumbled back in the direction they'd come from, towards Agunima. "That's Tenzi!" He coughed up dust that he'd inhaled from his sudden breath. They were far away from the cloaked figure and their victim, but Sheik just had a feeling… it had to be Tenzi. He dragged himself towards the two figures, but a sharp tug on his arm stopped him.

"We can't go back, Sheik!" Vaati hissed.

"But-"

The sorcerer gritted his teeth, keeping his grip around Sheik's wrist tight. "He's _dead."_ He cupped the Sheikah's face in his hands, forcing him to look away from what was happening behind them and back towards him. He hated how the words tasted on his tongue, and he hated the rust of blood as it trickled on the corner of his parched lips. _"_ There's nothing we can do to save them, they're already gone!" Then, he added quietly, "I'm not losing you, too."

That seemed to snap Sheik out of his daze, and his eyes finally regained some of their focus. Slowly, he brought his hands up hesitantly to Vaati's slightly shaking fingers.

Then, the Sheikah nodded once with resolve, and pushed the hands away from his face.

They had to go.

Behind them, the light from Tenzi's Triforce gleamed in the air as Agunima took it for himself with the power of the Fused Shadow. Neither Vaati nor Sheik stood to watch the entirety of the grim scene, and instead continued their slow retreat. They had no idea where to go, or what they could do now, but for now they had to get away.

They dragged their feet across the overturned earth, steadily making their way towards a nearby hill. If they could make it to the trees, they could find a place to hide and rest while they came up with a plan on what to do next. The two kept their gaze towards the trees with an almost desperate determination: it was the only thing they could hold onto, to distract themselves from the truth of their painful loss.

 _Don't think about the others._

 _Don't think about what's next._

 _Don't think about whether any of this had any meaning._

 _Only look at the trees. Only think about walking. Left foot over the right. Right foot over the left…_

Without warning, another violent explosion shook the ground. The shockwave from the blast whipped past them, causing them to lose their balance. When Sheik turned around to see what had happened, a sinking feeling gripped his chest. Beside him, Vaati was still sitting on the ground where he'd been pushed over by the blast, but he was making no effort to get up, shocked as he was by what he was seeing.

"Din, Nayru, and Farore…" the sorcerer murmured.

Agunima and Tenzi were gone. The remnants of the fortress were gone. Instead, there was a colossal creature floating in the sky. It continued to ascend, flying, swirling higher and higher.

A serpent blackened the sky with its titanic size. Its maw alone was large enough to swallow a castle whole. It had a long, hog-like snout, and a long red mane billowed from its back like the fire of Din herself. It screamed an earsplitting bellow that rang out from between its four towering tusks that protruded from its jaws, and then it swung its head around to take a look at the world for the first time with its new eyes.

And it had eyes. It was covered in eyes.

A line of eyes that ran along the side of its face, down its neck, down its three pairs of arms that, while monstrous, still looked somewhat humanoid.

They were the eyes of Nightmare, but without the sadistic curiosity that the original one had had. The ones before, though twisted, still had the light of a soul. These ones were empty. Hungry.

Sheik watched in horror as one of the monster's many hands summoned a trident taller than any tower, and then another pair of hands summoned a nightmarish bow adorned with demon wings. Blue runes similar to the one that had been carved into the Fused Shadow flashed across its body briefly. "Vaati, do you think Dethl…"

Vaati shook his head. "No. I don't know what that is. I don't even know if that _thing_ knows what it is."

Sheik watched the monster circle the air slowly and without purpose, a bow in one hand, a trident in the other, three other pairs of arms clawing at the air with confused twitches. All the while, the snake watched the world with the Nightmare's blank eyes.

He remembered Shadow and Ravio telling him about a man they had met while they'd been hunting for Dethl. If only they had stopped Agunima from using the Fused Shadow on the Nightmare creature back then…

"It's a monster with all the power of Dethl, the Triforce of Wisdom, the Triforce of Power, the Fused Shadow, the Interloper's vengeance, and my Wrath," Vaati continued, watching the scene with both revulsion and awe. "It's a collective consciousness of destruction."

The serpent twisted its head around, suddenly focusing on the ground below it. It gave a ground-shaking wail, and the world changed around them before their eyes. The sky darkened with the rush of a cold wind, and thick clouds rolled across the horizon. Plants instantly wilted in an increasingly widening circle from beneath the serpent until the landscape was a sea of grey. Wildlife was replaced with eerie monsters and walking corpses.

A flash. The serpent's maw flashed a brilliant light and the ground erupted with a series of explosions as it swung its head.

It swung its head towards them.

"Hang on," Vaati said, and he quickly reached over and grabbed Sheik by the waist. Vaati vanished into light just as the explosion reached them.

Again, there was that strange feeling of melting into the light, and this time Sheik didn't fight the sensation. The explosion passed through him as he was pulled into the light, and he could also feel something, Vaati probably, guiding him away from the blast. As soon as the light subsided, however, he could feel his body rematerialize, and that was when the remaining force of the explosion's blast collided into him. Sheik felt himself thrown into the air from the shockwave of the blast, and his ears buzzed with the deafening roar of the explosion that he'd returned to. His body slammed against the earth and he was tossed across the ground for several feet before he finally came to a stop against the incline of a hill.

With a groan, he forced himself to stay conscious. His arms barely supporting his weight, he shakily pushed himself up.

 _Vaati?_

He reached out blindly while he waited for his senses to return. Suddenly, he felt fingers clasp his hands.

"I told you… to hang on."

Sheik nearly fell back onto the ground in relief when he heard Vaati's voice. When his vision slowly returned, he saw a mess of a sorcerer who was covered in dust, blood, and dirt from crawling over to where Sheik had been thrown. A mess, but alive. He held onto Vaati's hand tightly.

They dragged themselves up against a nearby boulder, and they rested their backs against it as they watched the world fall apart around them.

"Vaati."

The sorcerer turned his head towards Sheik tiredly. He tilted his head slightly, indicating that he was listening.

"This is the end, isn't it?" Sheik asked.

Vaati chortled, a grimace interrupting his bitter laugh from time to time when his bruised ribs jabbed his sides. "You know, I told Shadow Link that last night and he yelled at me," he chuckled lightly. A fond but forlorn smile played on his lips as he revisited the memory. "He actually yelled at me. How dare I not tell him that we were going to win?"

"I think I heard you arguing last night."

"He called me a grape."

Sheik laughed, but the laughter quickly died down along with his smile. It hurt to think about them, and he still had trouble coming to terms with the fact that they were really gone. They weren't coming back. He was never again going to hear their snarky little comments that never failed to make him smile. He was never again going to hear about Shadow's hilarious prank ideas, never again going to exchange jokes about Vaati with Ravio. They were gone. Gone.

Maybe Vaati had thought the same thing, because he, too, fell into a solemn silence. The two watched the colossal abomination as it continued to destroy the world. It leveled a mountain in the distance with its explosive breath.

"Shadow was right, you know," Vaati said after a while, a smile cracking on his lips again. "We're still going to win. We were always going to win."

Sheik turned to look at the sorcerer questioningly. Vaati was looking at the abomination with a distant look in his eyes.

"There's one spell that could even fell the gods," Vaati continued quietly.

It took a few seconds for Sheik to understand just what Vaati was talking about. In the background, explosions boomed and filled the brief silence. Eventually realization dawned on him, and color left his cheeks. "You can't mean-" he began, horrified. When Vaati simply smiled at him sadly, he vehemently shook his head. "Vaati, no. You know I can't."

"You're the only one who can."

"No, it can be you, too," Sheik insisted. "I know how powerful you are! You can beat him, too."

Vaati was powerful. He'd faced the sorcerer's Wrath form; he knew what kind of destructive power he wielded. Vaati had said it himself, he had the power of a god! Vaati could beat that monster just as much as he cou-

"No," Vaati said bluntly, and Sheik was taken aback by how serious he looked now.

Whatever argument Sheik had been about to make faltered under the intensity of the sorcerer's gaze, and the Sheikah shrunk back with a pained expression. Deep down, he knew that Vaati was right, that between the two of them, he with his Light Arrow had the best chance of defeating the abomination.

But he couldn't admit. He didn't want to admit it. He mentally screamed, swearing that Vaati was wrong, but on the outside he remained quiet. He couldn't find his voice.

Vaati smiled again, perhaps knowing what Sheik was thinking. He shook his head to himself, and then gave a weak shrug. "I was never chosen by the goddesses. At the end of the day my power is but an imperfect mimicry of true power. I only realized it after I shared this," he lifted Sheik's hand that was in his, and nodded at the mark of the Triforce that was etched into their skins, "with you."

Sheik shook his head slowly at first, and then he shook his head faster. He couldn't do what was being asked of him. He couldn't. "There has to be another way. Anything but this."

Vaati sighed and leaned his head back against the boulder behind them. He looked tired, then. Tired of everything he'd lived through and experienced. In that moment he almost looked his true age, rather than that of a youth in his twenties. "I always ridiculed those who were the Chosen Ones. You, your ancestors, the destined hero and their predecessors. The way they faced me with nothing but their idealism and _hope_. It offended me. Such flimsy, abstract concepts should have been worthless in the face of pure, raw power."

"Vaati…"

"And yet, time and time again I was thwarted. I didn't understand it. Every single one of you had nothing but _hope_ and a sword, and yet you defeated me every time. Me, a being with the powers of a god," Vaati laughed bitterly to himself. Then, he sighed. It was the sigh on the last hour of daylight, of when kings removed their crowns and retired from the throne. "This power of yours carries hope, you know. I always lost because I only ever cared about how my power could end things. You won, and can win again and again because your power promises a beginning. It carries all the futures of everyone in the world."

"You just made all of that up," Sheik muttered under his breath.

"Perhaps," Vaati admitted with a chuckle, "But you can't deny that the arrow you wield is unlike anything else in the world. It banishes darkness like nothing else can."

Sheik shook his head again. He ignored Vaati's expectant gaze, and he ignored the sounds of explosions in the distance. He helplessly wished he could curl up and disappear. When it became clear that, no matter how long he waited, he was not going to be able to avoid answering Vaati, he turned away with a grimace. "Don't make me do this…"

"That thing isn't going to stop with this world. Once it's done here, it's going to destroy the Light World, too. It's not going to stop until there's nothing left to destroy."

Sheik gritted his teeth. Since when did Vaati start caring about what happened to the world?

Since when did Sheik stop?

"Do you remember what I told you at the Gerudo Fortress?" the Sheikah asked slowly, speaking of the time when they'd first spoken not as Sheik and Fuu, but as Sheik and Vaati. Twinrova had thought he'd completely lost his senses when the Sheikah had asserted that he would undo everything they had worked for at that point by returning the sorcerer's memories. Looking back, he hadn't been acting rationally at all, and he'd prepared himself for the possibility that he _would_ lose his kingdom to the sorcerer.

He'd do it all again if he had to.

He'd do it again, now.

He didn't care about what happened to everything else.

 _You don't mean that_.

… No, he didn't mean that.

… but he did.

Vaati grinned at Sheik's question, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a true smile as he remembered the day. "When you gave me permission to destroy your kingdom for my companionship? How could I forget?" he chuckled. Then, his expression darkened, and he suddenly leaned forward, bringing his face close. "Don't be a fool, Sheik. My time was up a long time ago."

The sorcerer looked at Sheik coolly with narrowed eyes, challenging him. He pulled back with a self-satisfied smile when Sheik turned away, but the fading light behind his eyes was but a hint to his own despair.

Vaati's expression softened, and he squeezed Sheik's hand gently. "My time was up after what was supposed to be my final fight against you. But you gave me a chance. My time was up when I lost against Agunima. But again, you gave me a chance. You've given me enough chances."

Sheik's shoulders shook, his face contorted into a pained snarl. His free hand was like a claw against the ground, his nails digging into the dirt until his knuckles were white. _It's okay,_ Vaati's hand tried to tell him.

It wasn't.

It _wasn't_ okay.

 _I can't do anything_.

"I didn't understand why you kept saving me," Vaati mused with a whisper.

It hurt to breathe. He was helpless. There was a sharp pain in his chest that wouldn't go away. It wasn't from any bruises or broken bones; it wasn't something potions could heal. Sheik had finally succumbed to the fact that there was nothing he could say or do to stop what he was going to have to do, and he was falling apart. His breath came out in short, ragged gasps, begging, pleading for some other solution.

"I… because…"

He felt a hand on brush against his cheek, and he brought his own hand up, clinging to it, burying his face in it. His fingers trembled as they clasped Vaati's hand, and he stayed that way for a while, still unable to face Vaati. If he looked at him now, he surely wouldn't…

Pressure on his chin. Vaati forcing him to turn to look at him.

 _Until the very end we disagree,_ he thought as he yielded against the sorcerer's touch. He slowly, reluctantly lifted his head and met Vaati eye to eye even though it hurt him.

The perfect curl of Vaati's moonlight bangs, matching the curve of his chin. The lines across his nose from where he scowled too much, the familiar, cynical arch of his angled brows. The thin lips half parted in an uncertain smile, and the devastating look in his red eyes, the fires of wrath nothing but cold ashes now. Sheik took it all in.

Vaati pulled him close into a kiss. Simple, but not any less passionate. It was gentle, not wanting to linger but lingering. Held breaths, like time might stop for them.

A goodbye.

The ground shook with a wailing roar from the serpent in the distance.

"I understand now," Vaati said with a half-hearted smile as they reluctantly pulled away. He brushed the hair away from Sheik's face and for a moment it seemed like he was going to make one last quip about Sheik's desolate expression. However, his smile broke, and he was unable to find anything clever to say.

With heavy breath, he stood himself up and reached for Sheik's hand.

This time, Sheik didn't resist, and he slowly got up onto his feet. His earlier distress was gone, and had been replaced with defeated emptiness of one who knew it was pointless to go against what he'd known since the very beginning. In the end, he had a responsibility to his kingdom, and it didn't matter how afraid he was of being left completely alone in victory.

It didn't matter that a victory where he lost everyone he loved and cared about wasn't much of a victory at all. It didn't matter that he would have rather let the world burn than to survive without Vaati. Shadow. Ravio. Tenzi.

He wanted nothing more than to believe he was Sheik, but he was also Zelda, princess of Hyrule.

And since the beginning, the princess shouldered the world alone.

"Talk to me," Sheik whispered. He slowly lifted the hand that still held Vaati's. He hesitated as he brought his free hand in the air as well, struggling to force himself to start the spell that would be responsible for ending the life of someone he cared for more than he'd ever cared for anyone. Vaati obliged, and began recounting stories of the past.

"Do you remember when we first met? I think I showed up at your castle, gloating as I do. About what, I don't know. I might have broken all your windows and turned some of your guards to stone. I actually don't remember the first time we met. I didn't really think much about you, then. You were just another princess with the same name as all the others before you."

Beads of light began to gather around Sheik's hands, gradually pooling into the crescent shape of a longbow. It glowed brightly, gaining energy from the mark of the Triforce of Wisdom.

"But you ended up doing something no other princess had been foolish enough to do. You didn't seal me away. you didn't even try to kill me properly. Instead, you ended up giving me another chance. Shadow Link, too."

More light twisted and snaked along the bow, drawing runic marks along it in an ancient language. The two held the bow together, though Sheik found himself keeping an increasingly firmer grip around Vaati's slipping fingers.

"I'd forgotten what it was like to get in trouble until that time you woke me up too early in the morning, because you needed help hiding from Impa. And then all the times after that when I'd help sneak you out. I don't think Impa liked me very much for it."

It pained Sheik to hear the changes in Vaati's voice, which had become laborious and slightly slurred. The sorcerer's posture was beginning to sink as well, as his legs, drained of energy, struggled to support his weight. Still, Vaati pretended like nothing was wrong, and he redoubled his efforts to sound like his usual, pompous self.

"Technically I'm thousands of years old. But Impa asked me something, once. She'd asked, 'how many of those years have you actually lived?' At first, I was angry at her for asking that, but it was moments with you when I realized… she had been right to wonder."

A large arrow flashed into existence. Still keeping his right hand clasped tightly around Vaati's, Sheik pulled back on the bow's string. The sudden light caught the attention of the colossal serpent, and it swung its head menacingly in their direction.

Vaati's voice was now husky and labored. Still, he fought to remain conscious.

"I… know I seem like I've… resigned myself to my fate. But the truth is,"

And finally, the bravely reconciled countenance that Vaati had maintained for the both of them until now broke completely. There was an audible tremor in his voice, though he made one last ditch effort to hide it with a shattered chuckle.

"I don't want to die, Sheik."

Sheik bit down hard on his lips, focusing on the pain and the salt on his tongue as he bled. It was better than noticing how the sorcerer's head had slumped forward, or how he was just barely supporting his own weight now while the light of the Triforce gradually disappeared from the back of his hand.

Sheik took aim at the beast that was twisting its way towards him. The arrow shone brighter with holy light, but he felt none of the hope that Vaati had spoken about earlier. He had nothing left.

 _Courage_.

Sheik blinked. He almost released the arrow early in his surprise. _Who?_ He looked around as much as he was able to, certain that he'd heard someone speak. It had been like an echo in the back of his thoughts, and he thought it had been a woman who'd spoken. However, the distant timber of her voice almost made him think that her words hadn't been meant for him.

And then Sheik held his breath, because suddenly the fingers that had slipped away from him grasped his tightly once more. He looked across on the other side of the bow with trepidation, hope welling in him but holding it back out of fear that he was simply hallucinating everything now.

Vaati was standing again, his eyes full of life and ferocity that had been missing in the past few days, and Sheik felt the bow jerk back up for a proper aim at the colossal serpent when Vaati readjusted their aim. More power than anything Sheik had ever been able to summon alone with his own Light Arrow surged across the bow in his hands, and it was then he noticed that where the Triforce he'd shared had vanished from the back of Vaati's hand, a different triangle glowed brightly now. It was an inverted triangle, glowing brightest on the right-most corner.

"Vaati you're…" Sheik stammered.

Wisdom ran in bloodlines. Courage and Power manifested in champions selected by the divine. Sheik knew that Vaati never really believed in the goddesses, and in the rare instances he humored their existence, the sorcerer expressed frustration at their lack of an active role in looking over the people they claimed to love. Sheik could only believe that the voice he'd thought he heard had been real. The goddesses hadn't abandoned them.

Vaati flashed a brief grin, a familiar upward twist of his lips with that hint of cynicism. Sheik didn't realize how much he'd missed that grin until he'd seen it.

Vaati himself looked like there was a lot he wanted to say, and his grin flattened into a frustrated sigh as he glanced back at the inverted Triforce that had saved him. The sorcerer had a lot of choice thoughts regarding the divine and how they handled things in the mortal realm, mostly negative, but that rant could come later.

"We're ending this."

Sheik nodded, and together they pulled back on the arrow which had doubled to the size of a large spear. It shone twice as brightly, its rays cutting through the darkness like sunlight piercing the clouds. The serpent roared and charged at them with its gaping maw.

 _Now_.

They let go of the arrow. Light trailed after it as it cut its path towards the towering beast. Compared to the serpent, it was a small thing, and it was so small that it was doubtful that it would be enough to stop it. However, Vaati had been right about one thing, and it was that there was something about the power of hope and the strength of will that would allow it to prevail against brute force of destruction.

When the arrow's rays reached the monster, there was a brilliant flash and the serpent gave a shrieking wail as it was cleanly split in two. The light parted the darkness in two and the serpent writhed and coiled until it slowly disintegrated into golden dust. Its numerous eyes swiveled towards the two with chilling wrath for one last moment until they, too, disappeared.

 _So… Vaati had been right,_ Sheik thought, watching the gold dust glimmering across the sky. He remembered what the sorcerer had said about power that carried despair versus power that carried hope. The dust floated down in a cascade of gold, shimmering from the sun that had returned from behind the vanishing clouds. It brought some color back to the still-ashen and deathly silent landscape.

 _Oh._

Sheik turned around, a sudden fear overcoming him. Vaati. What if he'd imagined the whole thing? What if he was still alone? What if-

He froze. Vaati was still there, standing with his eyes wide and staring back at him with a similar look of disbelief. He was ragged and worn, covered with dirt and bruises along with the specks of gold dust that continued to fall gently around them. Importantly, he was alive. They were _both_ alive.

Vaati cracked a weak smile.

Tears streaming down his face, Sheik ran over and embraced him tightly. His shoulders shook violently and he clung to him, afraid to let go, to lose him again.

It was over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…

To my dearest friends,

I wonder if you'll think it silly that I keep writing you letters like this, even though I know I will never show them to you (they're quite embarrassing).

In a few days I'm finally going to be able to meet all of you. I haven't been so giddy since I was but a child. (I hope you will not be too angry about the misunderstanding that led to my kidnapping of a dear friend).

No matter what happens, no matter how much we must suffer to see this through, I just want to say that I believe… I truly believe that we will get through this together. You carry my hope, just as I carry yours. Hope is a powerful, wonderful thing.

We will win. I know we will. And we're all finally going to go home.

Together.

* * *

 _fleets_ : …  
I've got nothing. I feel like anything I can possibly say about this chapter would empty and inappropriate right now.  
One more chapter left. I hope you guys stick around ;u;

 **Icfehr:** Ohhh I got confused when you said _twin_ shadows (I think you mean fused shadow?). I just used the explanation that TP used (I think it was at some point during Link's weird dream) that said that the Fused Shadow had the power to control the Triforce (or something along those lines). The brute force bit kind of showed up in this chapter (like the multiple arms on the serpent monster thing)

 **AquilaMage:** I will take any beating graciously because I probably deserve it. But I still think. I still think I know my audience pretty well

 **Vesperupus:** I warned everyone about the pain train and I wasn't kidding. But I also promised something else, and it's that the train does end. (sighs) can't really do much else right now except put to the test how much trust I've earned with readers over the years hahaha

 **syphrilfox:** Wellllll you're not going to like this but… yeah. Still looking for that rainbow :P

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** I always said that I don't think Dethl can ever really _die_ , since they're Nightmare incarnate. They might be forgotten, but they're always out there. Somewhere. (mostly so I can recycle them as villains over and over and over and-)

 **Lunamew:** To be perfectly honest I don't know why I never used that line sooner, given fandom's opinion on his grapeness.


	22. A Wish for All

_fleets:_ I'm tired of letting this chapter just sit on my computer and stew. SO. HERE IT IS. Thanks for your patience as always :D

* * *

 **Chapter 22: A Wish for All**

It was over, but Sheik couldn't bring himself to celebrate.

The pale light of the Dark World broke through the clouds, casting away the darkness that had previously engulfed the world, but the view was still bleak. Color had been drained away as the grass and trees had been turned ashen, and it was with eerie beauty that the gold dust glittered where it had fallen. Craters from the explosions still pocketed the landscape, and the world seemed devoid of life and movement.

Everything was still.

The two survivors slowly dragged themselves towards the ruins of the fortress, hoping to find something within the wreckage; any kind of memory of their friends who hadn't made it. It was a bleak task, and Sheik almost dreaded what he would find, if he found anything. He still remembered the lifeless Tenzi hanging limply in Agunima's grasp…

He forced down the bile rising in his throat as the thought of facing whatever was left of his friends haunted him. On the one hand he needed to know what had happened to them. On the other hand, he didn't know if he was ready to face that kind of closure. He'd never imagined that things would end the way it did, with some of them getting left behind. They were supposed to return together. He'd looked forward to what they would do when they all went back home: now that there was a way to traverse between the Light and Dark worlds, they could all be together again.

Except, now they were gone, and he felt hollow where they'd taken a part of him away when they'd…

…

He couldn't bring himself to think that word.

A few feet ahead, Vaati was turning over stones and digging under rubble with all the energy of a dead man. He went about the task in an automated fashion, like he was simply moving to distract himself from whatever thoughts he might have otherwise. Sheik sighed and glanced at his hand where the gold mark of the Triforce glowed more brightly than ever, now that it had completely returned to him and was no longer being shared. Now that they no longer shared the power, he could no longer feel what Vaati was feeling, but he didn't need that to know that the sorcerer was blaming himself for the loss. Vaati had only been able to save Sheik.

The sorcerer didn't always show it, but Sheik knew he'd cared for Shadow and Ravio strongly.

Suddenly, Sheik heard an exclamation, and he turned to look towards Vaati who'd apparently found something. He didn't have to ask what it was that he'd found, because it wasn't long before a bright light gleamed from the wreckage and floated up into the air above them. Two inverted golden triangles spun slowly on its axis, and Vaati's right hand glimmered briefly before the piece he'd earned joined to make a larger inverted triangle. It was Lorule's completed Triforce. Courage, Power, and

 _Wisdom_ , Sheik thought sadly. _Tenzi's really gone, then, along with Shadow and Ravio_. He limped over towards Vaati, his injured foot still bothering him, and joined the sorcerer who was looking up at the Lorulean Triforce with a mix of awe and resentment.

"I didn't think I would ever see the day…" the sorcerer trailed off with a sneer. The phrase, 'Be careful what you wish for' was a tired cliché, but he could find no other words that were more appropriate to describe the moment. He'd wished for the Triforce, and it had been granted at the cost of Sheik's life. Now he had all three pieces before him, and the cost had been even greater. "How aggravating," the wind mage murmured.

As Sheik approached, his hand also glowed gold. The piece on his hand suddenly floated up towards the three others, and then fit perfectly in the empty center made by the connected inverted triangles. Light beamed from the now complete inverted triangle, basking the surrounding area with a warm glow. "It joined together," he breathed. He looked at it in awe for a moment, recognizing that this was perhaps the first time in history that the Triforce from two separate worlds had come together. The power emanating from the completed Triforce, or perhaps it was more appropriate to call it Tetraforce, was nothing like what Sheik had ever encountered before. However, it wasn't overwhelming, like the power that Agunima had yielded that seemed to push things away with sheer energy. It was protective, comforting, almost like the warm rays of the sun on a winter morning.

A reminiscent smile played on Vaati's lips, and he shook his head briefly before he said with a sigh, "I only heard it as a tale, but there is an old story about an evil sorcerer who once led the world to destruction." He held out a hand to help steady the still-limping Sheik.

"You did that?" Sheik asked, taking the hand gratefully.

"Oh, that part I remember well," Vaati shrugged. "Monsters completely ravaged the land. In fact, I would say the land was almost as bleak as it is now. No, I remember that part well, but there is a part of that story which I only heard about afterwards." The sorcerer paused to stare up at the golden triangle spinning slowly on its axis above them. He bit his lip, cracked with blood and dusted with ash, and he seemed to be thinking through words he would have once ridiculed. The thought prompted a cynical smile. "There was a princess. Her hope was so strong that they say the goddesses heard her wish to make the world anew." He gave Sheik's hand a light squeeze, and nodded his head towards the Triforce. "You can do that again."

Sheik's face fell as he considered Vaati's suggestion, and the more he thought about it the more uncertain he became. Eventually, he took a deep breath, and his hands slipped out of Vaati's grasp as he sat down on the ground, his back to the golden power that so many had gone after in the past. "It won't bring them back," he said quietly. He knew, rationally, that he needed to keep going and to do everything he could to rebuild what had been lost. He knew that, at the very least, he needed to see things to the end for Tenzi who'd been fighting all this time to save his world. But it was difficult to get himself to care when the brutal reality that Shadow, Ravio, and Tenzi were gone was floating in the air behind him. "You think I'm like that princess, Vaati? You said it yourself before: I'm not like my ancestors. I can't… I'm not full of hope."

 _Not anymore_ , he added to himself. Rationally he knew that he still had Vaati, and Impa was still waiting for him back in Hyrule. But he'd lost so much in one single moment that it was difficult to believe that anything really mattered anymore. One day he'll be able to look at the world with his gaze upwards, he always did, but it was not something he could do now when the wounds were so fresh. It had to be someone who held within them a bright, hopeful image of the world to be able to restore the dead landscape back to what it had once been. He'd lost what a hopeful world was supposed to look like when it was blown up in an instant by that bomb.

Vaati turned away, unable to argue, and then sat down next to Sheik tiredly, resting his heavy head in his hands. His shoulders rose and fell, a silent sigh, and he kicked a pebble away with his foot irritably. "The most powerful artifact in existence is floating right behind us and neither of us are doing anything about it. I don't even know what to say," he muttered. His tone was accusatory, but it wasn't an accusation directed at Sheik so much as it was directed at himself.

"You would have stopped at nothing to get it, once," Sheik said quietly.

"Once," Vaati agreed. "Now I… I simply can't be bothered."

Sheik nodded, knowing exactly what Vaati meant. Shadow was gone. Ravio was gone. Tenzi was gone. The Dark World was in ashes, and the sun seeping through the clouds only did more to reveal all that they had lost. The Triforce couldn't bring back a life that had been taken; they'd tried that already and it had gotten them into this mess in the first place. Only a miracle had allowed both him and Vaati to live. It would take another miracle to bring the others back. Knowing that, neither of them could bring themselves to make a wish that would make everything 'okay again.' Because it wasn't going to be okay again. At least, not for a while.

 _If I could fall asleep and not wake for a thousand years…_ Sheik thought. As soon as he did so, he felt a reassuring squeeze on his hand, and noticed Vaati watching him with a feeble grin like he knew that they'd been thinking the same thing. Though Vaati said nothing, Sheik could almost imagine him joke bitterly, "I've done that once and it wasn't all that great."

Reading his thoughts, Vaati's grin widened, though it was still in that pained, defeated way. "I know what you're thinking," he said.

"I didn't say anything," Sheik replied, though not without a shadow of a burdened smile of his own. It was funny, they weren't soulbound anymore and yet it didn't feel too different now than before, much like it hadn't felt all that different when they'd first become soulbound. Vaati understood him in a way no one else could, and it made him wonder why they'd ever had to fight each other in the first place.

A wave of fatigue washing over him, Sheik leaned against Vaati, his head resting on the crook of his neck. The sorcerer looked up briefly in surprise, and then he smiled forlornly to himself and allowed himself to rest. They watched the silent kingdom for a while, listening to each other's broken breaths as the gold dust swirled and mixed with the dead grey of ash in the flattened landscape before them. Not a single bird flew in the sky. They were the only ones alive for miles.

"What would you have done with all that power?" Sheik asked after a while, breaking the somber silence. "What would you have wished for?"

The gravity of the question was not lost on Vaati, and the sorcerer's faint sneer slowly vanished. Even after his memories had returned, the two of them had never really discussed their past history. In fact, they had avoided the topic, perhaps out of fear of facing their bloodied past that had caused both of them pain. In the case of Sheik, he'd wanted to ignore the fact that the one closest to him was someone who'd been the icon of destruction. In the case of Vaati, he'd wanted to forget the fact that he had, perhaps, been wrong. For a few seconds, the wind mage appeared reluctant to discuss his history before "Fuu," but then he shrugged. Everything seemed trivial now that everything was lost.

"To be honest, I do not know."

"Then why-?"

"I knew, once," Vaati interrupted Sheik's exclamation, "like Agunima probably knew, once," he added quietly.

And then Sheik understood, remembering the serpentine monstrosity that they'd fought with their lives. He remembered Tenzi speaking to the man until the end, his voice still carrying a hint of hope that the man would see sense. Whatever man Tenzi had known had been long gone by the time Agunima had become that monster. Sheik's gaze lowered when he also remembered the one-eyed monster carrying winds of ruin, the same being as the person he now rested his head against. He knew exactly what Vaati meant, and he wondered how this was affecting the sorcerer since he'd almost been the one to create the silent world that surrounded them now.

"Sometimes you try so hard to achieve something for so long that over time you forget why you were trying in the first place, and the only thing you remember is that it was something important," Vaati continued in a thoughtful murmur. "Maybe I wanted to prove something. I don't quite remember where it all started and how everything ended up the way it did, but I vaguely remember eventually wanting to challenge the goddesses themselves. Despite all the atrocities I committed, they never once showed themselves, and I became convinced that they no longer existed. Perhaps they never existed, and there were no gods for me to stand over. And then _this_ happens." He snorted and held out his right hand, the mark of being one of the goddesses' chosen etched onto the back of it. "Me. Champion of Courage. What a riot," he said resentfully, and then let his hand fall against his side carelessly. He muttered under his breath, "Somehow, I no longer want this power of theirs."

A bit of regret could be heard in the mage's words, regret, perhaps, at realizing how pointless and silly everything he'd ever done had been. Everything seemed so insignificant now, but the sorcerer was too tired to be angry about it.

"I never wanted this," Sheik said, nodding towards his right hand where his mark was. "All it does is remind me of the day it was passed to me, when I lost both my father and my mother. All this has ever gotten me was the loss of those closest to me. This time I lost Shadow, Ravio, Tenzi… and I almost lost you."

Sheik still remembered clearly the argument he'd had with Impa back when he was still too small for the crown to fit properly on his head, back when he'd still had to claim the throne despite it. In his grief at losing his parents in exchange for the Triforce, he'd yelled at her, saying that he never asked to be blessed by the goddesses. She'd tried to console him, then, saying that one day he'll understand the gift he'd been given by his mother.

Older, now, he understood what she was trying to tell him. But time passed, and he also learned that she could never understand him on this, because she was not the one to hold such power. Vaati could understand now, after everything that had happened, and this fact both comforted and saddened him. Though the person who understood him so completely was beside him, it was a unique loneliness that gripped his chest as Sheik sat in the center of the bright yet dead landscape where so many of his friends had lost their lives.

"I wanted to go back together," he said, "I wanted Hyrule to be full of hope and joy again, after its devastation from Dethl. I wanted to visit Lorule, together, with everyone." He buried his face in Vaati's shoulders, "I just want everything to go back to the way it was supposed to be, where we're all together and everyone's happy."

The sorcerer considered Sheik's words for a few minutes in silent agreement. He looked down briefly and absentmindedly picked at an ashen blade of grass next to him, and watched it quietly as it immediately crumbled into dust between his fingers. Then, he released a lengthy sigh and stirred, stretching his legs. With a tired effort, he began to pull himself up onto his feet. "That's as good a wish as any," he mumbled to himself as he stood up.

"Wait, what are you-" Sheik began, as Vaati suddenly pulled him up as well.

"Well we might as well not waste any wishes, and I don't know how long this will last before it disappears," Vaati shrugged. "Wouldn't want to chance a stray creature from making an accidental wish, would we? Imagine a lizard passing by and activating this thing," he added, though his tone was indifferent and he didn't sound like he truly cared about what happened to it at this point.

Sheik got up hesitantly, but he frowned as he turned around and faced the glowing triangle that continued to wait for the two of them patiently. _A wish_ , he thought without confidence. He'd lost so much, and the only wish he could think of was a wish that could not be granted. "I don't know what to wish for…"

"Wish for what you said just now."

Sheik's brows furrowed together. "But it wouldn't work."

"Always pragmatic, aren't you," Vaati tutted, "The first step to making a wish is to never wonder if it'll come true."

For a moment, Sheik was taken aback by the suggestion and the slightly cynical grin on Vaati's face. It was in his nature to carefully plan through scenarios and to take action when the chances of success were high, and he found it difficult to wrap his head around the sorcerer's suggestion. Then, he couldn't help but smile when he realized just how _Vaati_ this suggestion was: impatient, reckless, and just a bit presumptuous. Normally he would advise taking a step back to go over all the things that could possibly go wrong, but Sheik had little else to lose at this point.

"All right," he conceded, a little bubble of hope welling up within. There was something about the way Vaati said things that made you almost believe him, no matter how outrageous his claims.

The sorcerer stepped aside for Sheik to walk up to the glowing, inverted Tetraforce, but looked up in surprise when the Sheikah grabbed his hand and pulled him forward as well.

"I'll do it," Sheik said, "but together."

"Me?" Vaati asked, incredulous. When he was met with a single, stubborn nod, Vaati scrunched his nose. "I… don't know if this is advisable," he began. His experience in making wishes in the past had been met with strong opposition, and he lacked confidence when it came to doing what most people called 'the right thing.'

"I want you to do this with me."

He blinked, startled by Sheik's insistence. The argument he'd been about to make stopped short at his tongue when he saw a flicker of hope light up in those sharp red eyes again. Sheik looked almost alive again, and just seeing that was enough to make him feel hope, too. "Interesting," Vaati grinned. He couldn't help but be amused by how from the very beginning, Sheik had persisted in dragging him along together with fierce determination, despite their conflicted past. He was foolish, more foolish than anyone Vaati had ever met, but foolish in a way that one couldn't help but fall in love with.

They stood before the glowing triangle that hovered a few feet above the cracked earth. Then, they looked at each other one last time for confirmation, and with a nod they placed their hand against it.

 _Shadow, Ravio, Sheerow, Tenzi._

Sheik thought about the faces of those he'd lost as his fingers pressed against the surface of the Tetraforce. Its surface was surprisingly warm to the touch, like the comforting warmth of a fire in winter. Beside him, Vaati looked more serious than he'd ever looked in his entire life, and was staring intently at the glowing power with a determination that had only just now returned. Sheik couldn't put his wish into words, but he poured all his feelings into his wish for everything to become right again. He imagined the days he'd looked forward to after all of this was over, of the days with his friends that had been stolen from him in a single, terrible moment. He thought about the people of Hyrule and Lorule finally being able to freely traverse from one world to the other, and he thought about how he would no longer be separated from his companions in the Dark World by a thin mirror shard.

The Lorule landscape would no longer be the silent kingdom it had been reduced to, and they would all finally go home.

 _Together._

The Force gleamed in response, and Sheik was forced to shut his eyes when a powerful gust accompanied by blinding light rushed forth from the floating artifact. Warmth radiated from it, and then, eventually, the light died down and he could feel its smooth surface slipping away from his touch. Cautiously he opened his eyes, and then they widened in surprise at what he saw happening around him.

Color burst across the world as the previously dead landscape flourished into brilliant green hues full of life. Wildflowers bloomed, and their sudden growth caused the gold dust to float up into the air in beautiful colors, reflecting back the yellow-tinted sky of the Dark World. There was movement in the horizon as wildlife returned, and the world that had become still was now alive again.

Breathless, the two of them stared out at the restored land.

"So what did you wish for?" Sheik asked, still stunned by the serene view. It was more beautiful than what the Dark World had been like before it had been ravaged, and he hadn't expected anything like it from his wish.

"Hmm? For your wish to come true. I figured it would increase your chances," Vaati replied simply, though he, too, appeared surprised by how vibrant and full of color the world had become. Suddenly, they heard loud noises in the distance from somewhere to their left, and the sorcerer began to grin. "And I dare say it did."

Sheik turned towards the source of the noise, and he found his hands shaking when he thought he recognized them. They were voices. _It can't be…_

He didn't want to have any false hopes. He wouldn't be able to bear the disappointment if he turned out to be wrong. However, he could think of no other person when he heard a particularly loud exclamation.

" _What the FUCK."_

His throat choked up. _It's not possible, I watched them die. You can't bring back the dead, I learned that the hard way._

" _The fuck are we alive?_! _Those fuckers fucking did it!"_ the voice continued. It was followed by a small yelp, along with a less-shouty,"Ow ow, Tenzi don't pinch me…"

"Shadow you're in the presence of _royalty_ if you don't mind."

"But you never care if I swear."

"Haha I know, I just wanted to see if you're really real."

And then another voice could be heard now, quieter than the other two but audible now that the speakers were coming closer.

"Are you sure we're not all dead and this isn't the afterlife? I mean the last thing I remember was uhhh, well, I'm pretty sure we should've died there. And this doesn't look like the Dark World I remember. OW! Farore, Shadow, why'd you go and do that for?"

"Oh, Ionno Ravio. Wanted to see if you're really real or somethin'."

"Is that…?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and the speakers gradually came into view as they climbed over fallen rubble and into Sheik's sight. They stared at each other for a few, long seconds, completely speechless.

"Sheik? _Sheik!"_ Shadow Link was the first to shout, _"_ And Master Vaati you too!"

And now, legs shaking, Sheik wasn't sure how much longer he could remain standing. He wasn't one to cry, in fact he rarely ever did, but this time he couldn't stop his vision from becoming blurry as the tears pooled in his eyes from overwhelming emotion. Because by some miracle the power of the Triforce from two worlds had managed to grant what he'd believed was an impossible wish. It had been a wish of hope and determination, a wish of two worlds of Light and Dark, and somehow… _somehow…_

Shadow Link was alive, and following behind him was the familiar rabbit-hooded silhouette of Ravio with Sheerow in his hands. Next to Ravio was Tenzi, squinting at them from under his cowl before his eyes suddenly widened with joy when he noticed Sheik and Vaati standing several feet away from them.

Sheik took a tentative step forward, still somewhat in disbelief at what he was seeing. "You're _alive!"_ he said hoarsely.

The next few seconds were filled with clamoring and hurried, messy tackles as they all rushed forward in relieved and excited embraces. An irritated grumble could be heard within the laughter and shouts as Vaati was also dragged into the celebratory reunion.

Everything was back the way it was supposed to be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several weeks later, Sheik was back in Hyrule. It was almost like he'd never left it, and the daily routine of worrying about paperwork and handling diplomatic affairs was almost a comfort and a testament to peace. No one else knew about the dangers Hyrule had faced or of the world that mirrored theirs, and the people went on with their lives none the wiser that a monstrous god had nearly destroyed them. At the same time, Sheik noticed that there _was_ something different about the people in his kingdom. They seemed happier, almost, and few carried that expression of despair that they'd had while they were still recovering from Dethl's attack. For the first time in a long time, Sheik could see signs of healing, and he couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the wish.

Sheik's ear twitched, and he did his best to pretend that he was paying attention to whatever it was that Impa was telling him. They were standing in the shade in the castle courtyard, where Impa had summoned him to discuss matters regarding his royal duties that was currently still being handled by his decoy, Daphna. As she droned on, he nodded from time to time, barely listening to topics that seemed trivial to him.

Yes, nothing had really changed.

Sheik smiled to himself, then, and looked up at the leaves that had changed color and was already beginning to fall. _Well, one thing had changed,_ he thought. As per Impa's promise, he was still allowed to remain as Sheik with Daphna acting in his stead until the arrival of winter. While he sometimes felt obligated to return to the throne now that the immediate threat of losing his life was gone, Impa never pressed him to return and they acted on a silent agreement that he could do as he wished until the first snowfall. In fact, Daphna was doing such a good job at running the kingdom that he sometimes wondered if he couldn't convince Impa to let her take his spot permanently, and for him to step in only when it was absolutely necessary. The girl seemed to appreciate her role more than he ever did, and she knew how to rule with patience and compassion. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, to be fair, since Daphna had been chosen on the basis that she was like the real Princess Zelda. She was what Princess Zelda was supposed to _be_ , and sometimes he thought that she was more like Zelda than he ever was, if that even made any sense.

"Sheik, you're not listening."

Sheik turned to look at Impa with a stoic expression, while his guardian returned an equally unflappable gaze. This exchange was nothing new, and something about that made him glad.

Impa was about to continue when she was interrupted by a commotion in the distance, coming somewhere from the castle gates. She frowned when she heard some squabbling from the guardsmen arguing with a haughty visitor, and then she bit back a sigh when she saw a dark-haired princess running towards them while dragging Ravio behind her.

"Sheik! It's so wonderful to see you!" Princess Hilda cried as she made her way towards them. She was surprisingly fast even in her long, billowing satin dress, and Ravio looked winded as he stood hunched over to catch his breath. Shortly after, Shadow Link caught up to them both, and he would have complained if it weren't for the fact that he was wheezing from running after Hilda.

Peeved, Impa's lips flattened, not amused by the three beaming faces of the three Dark Worlders. "Princess Hilda," she said in a low voice. She'd heard much about the Lorulean princess from Sheik and Vaati after they had returned from their adventures (of which she'd given them quite an earful for having left without telling her about it), and she'd met with the princess a few times since then. Hilda reminded her much of Zelda, though the Lorule counterpart was a bit more obstinate when it came to things she wanted. Impa took a moment to shoot a stern look towards Sheik whose grin was visible even with the cloth that hid his face. "We were not told that you would be making a visit today."

"I see," Hilda replied, her expression suddenly becoming serious. Sheik turned away, trying not to laugh when he saw Hilda flash him a quick look that he'd come to recognize as the "invisible wink."

"If I'd known that royalty from another kingdom was visiting, I would have increased security," Impa explained, just barely letting her aggravation get to her. She had a feeling that Sheik and Hilda were making fun of her in silence, somehow. "It would be an enormous problem if something happened to you during your visit here. That is the sort of thing that incites wars between kingdoms," she said severely.

Hilda's lips curled down into a frown, and her brows were bent into what could only be described as an obstinate arch as she stared down the tall Sheikah. After a while, she gave an inaudible sigh, and then transformed into her Seeker identity with a twirl of her wrists.

Tenzi looked at Impa coolly, his smirk audible from behind his mask. "Now there is no royalty here," he stated, waving his arm demonstratively.

Impa said nothing in response, though she continued to look unimpressed. Keeping an eye on one Sheikah-turned-princess was enough work already. Keeping an eye on two…

"Where's your sorcerer, anyway? I wanted to ask him a few things about a request he made recently," Tenzi said, unfazed by Impa's frown.

This time, Impa pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly. Keeping an eye on _three_ Sheikah trained youths… "Of course Vaati's running off doing things without telling me again. I specifically told him before not to make agreements with other nobles or kingdoms without-"

"Oh, no no. It was nothing like that," Tenzi reassured her quickly. "He just wanted me to leave food on the bookshelf of one of our outposts."

At this, Sheik tilted his head in puzzlement. "Did he say why?" he asked.

"No, though he seemed to think it amusing when I asked him if he wanted me to feed the mice infesting it. Refuses to give me straight answers, that one," the Seeker grumbled. Then, he brightened. "Anyway, it has been so long since I've visited you!"

"- It has only been three days since your highness last visited," Impa interjected with a sigh.

"Come, I want to see more of the Light World. How many days would it take to travel to Holodrum?"

"Princess Hi- _Tenzi_ , if you will excuse me," Impa stepped forward and stopped the group that had attempted to steal Sheik away. Then, she added, "Sheik, come back here."

With a barely hidden grimace, Sheik glanced over his shoulder from where he'd been in the middle of running off with Tenzi, Shadow, and Ravio. He already had a general idea on what Impa wanted to discuss with him, and he'd made up his mind a while ago that the things she wanted to discuss were nothing urgent or important. Still, he knew from Impa's tone that she wasn't going to let him leave until these matters were settled. Sheik slowly walked back towards Impa, while waving a hand in front of Shadow Link's face to stop him from saying something that would undoubtedly make things worse.

"As I was saying earlier," Impa began, "Daphna is being propositioned by a few nobles for her hand in marriage, and she wanted to bring up the point that acceptance would come with additional diplomatic and economic benef-"

"Decline all of them," Sheik interrupted. He'd heard this all before and it was beginning to annoy him.

Impa nodded, having fully anticipated his response. "She still thinks that perhaps it will be best if you rejected them personally."

While Sheik made a face, Tenzi ambled next to him. "Would you like me to assist?" he asked.

Before Impa could voice her opinion, a loud, demanding voice commanded their attention. "What is going on here?" Vaati asked as he walked up to them, clearly upset that he'd been left out in the gathering. He acknowledged Impa with a curt nod to indicate he'd completed one of her tasks for the day, and then went on to sweep the other three with narrowed eyes. "Why was I not told you three were coming?"

"No one was informed they were coming here today," Impa said, still a little vexed by their unannounced visit.

"Hiya Master Vaati!" Shadow waved enthusiastically.

Beside him, Tenzi lifted his chin and said bluntly, "Hello, wind mage. We were discussing Sheik's marriage options."

" _What._ "

"Tenzi you didn't have to put it quite that way…" Sheik groaned, holding his forehead against his hand.

For the next several minutes, Sheik and Impa explained to Vaati what they had been discussing just before his arrival. His insulted expression gradually fell into a bored one the more he understood the situation, and by the end of it he rolled his eyes with a shrug.

"Oh. In that case, tell them that you're already married," he said with disinterest.

Impa's eyebrows shot up, while Sheik had trouble finding his voice.

"What?"

"Uh… what?"

Off to the side, Ravio and Shadow were both covering their grins with their hands while Tenzi glanced from Sheik to Vaati, and back to Sheik again with an expectant glint in his eyes.

Sheik coughed. "I'm not… married," he said slowly.

"We're not?" Vaati asked, genuinely puzzled.

Never was there a more awkward silence.

Sheik stared at Vaati blankly, not quite knowing what to make of what he'd just heard, while Vaati was watching him with confused annoyance with his arms crossed over his chest. Impa sighed for the umpteenth time that day, and she looked just about ready to give up and go home.

"Strange, I thought I'd already asked," Vaati said after a while, unperturbed by the stares that he was getting. He gave a shrug and picked at his fingernails lazily. "Hmm, well it isn't an issue, is it?"

Sheik blinked. "Huh?"

"I mean, do you have a problem if we are?"

"I… well… I mean…" Sheik stammered, "To be honest, this is all kind of sudden… and there's a lot of considerations like… I mean," he faltered as Vaati's eyebrows were beginning to pinch together and his bored expression was turning into a steely one. "I mean I'm… I'm still the princess…?" he finished lamely.

"And yet you were thinking about suggesting Daphna to take over your position indefinitely," Impa snorted.

"I- what? I never told you that!"

"But you were thinking it."

"I mean… Impa! You're not helping," Sheik ran his hand over his face with a groan. Then, he looked up hurriedly when he realized that Vaati was already walking away, undoubtedly miffed by the ambivalent response. Before the sorcerer could storm off and disappear somewhere, Sheik's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him. "Wait," Sheik said, and then his voice cracked as his face flushed crimson. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again when he couldn't find anything coherent to say. The expectant stares that were pointed in his direction made the entire situation worse, and he nearly threw a smoke grenade to disappear and start over. He mumbled, wishing he had a full-face mask instead of the one that only covered half of it, "…A-ask me properly."

" _Interesting_ ," Tenzi interjected, while Shadow Link and Ravio had their mouths open in hysterical silent screams next to him. "Such an event should be memorable and grand, don't you think? I'm quite fond of parties. Shadow and Ravio?"

"I'll invite _everyone_."

"Can I charge people for admission?"

"You have my permission Ravio."

The red tint on Sheik's face had risen all the way up to his ears, and Vaati, too, had lost his composure and color was beginning to show on his cheeks. He attempted to appear angry, but ended up sounding embarrassed instead.

"Uh…"

" _Now hold on just one second_."

Impa, with a shake of her head, distanced herself from the group that was arguing animatedly with each other. The small smile on her lips tugged up as she heard the laughter intermixed with the squabble, and she looked up at the clear autumn sky, appreciating the first truly peaceful day she'd had in a long while.

"You know what happened the last time the _entire kingdom was invited to a personal event?_ "

"Oh, it wasn't that bad. The food and music were excellent, though the company wasn't the best. Being chased by a Sheikah with a greatsword was admittedly one of the night's low points."

" _It was a disaster, Tenzi!"_

"Look, I'm not going to kidnap anyone this time. This will be fun."

Impa shook her head again, still smiling. To be honest, there was a time where she would have strongly opposed any relationship between Vaati and Sheik, but now she didn't really care. Because the main reason she would have opposed it was out of concern for her charge: there would be complications with the public eye, and other troubles regarding royal responsibilities. However, she'd heard of everything those two had gone through, and she was without doubt that there was little that they wouldn't be able to overcome.

She glanced over her shoulder to see the group who she now considered family. It was strange, really, to think that she'd somehow ended up taking on the role of guardian of not only the infamous sorcerer, but two troublesome shadows and a princess from another world. Once she'd wished for Zelda, for Sheik, to be able to find people they could call friends, and never in a thousand years did she expect that the wish would be granted in this way. Of course, wishes were almost never granted in the ways one expected they would.

"I called you a grape, Master Vaati, but I think I'm going to start calling you a tomato."

" _AUGH!"_

"Hey! Where are you two going? Don't leave us behind!"

Impa chuckled. This was one wish that she was glad to have gone awry.

- _Fin -_

* * *

 _fleets:_ IT'S DONE. For those of you who made it this far, thank you so so _so_ much for taking an interest in my work and coming back week after week for more. It just… I don't know how to explain it, but seeing that readers were still sticking with me even after so long made me so happy. And for the people who were vocal with the support, from sending me messages of encouragement on tumblr to leaving reviews, to just screaming at me, I can't thank you enough. You really made worst days into great days and great days into best days ;u;

I was also especially warmed by your reactions to not just the two leading characters, but also to the side-cast like Shadow and Ravio, and even Tenzi who was like a heavily OC version of a canon character. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm to this world.

And speaking of this world, I don't plan on leaving it just yet. I'll be continuing on with Over the Desert Sands, another VaaSheik story, which is actually set in the same universe as the Demonbound/Soulbound universe! I revealed this on tumblr with a small comic a little while back (under the tags #fleets sketches, #soulbound spoilers, or #over the desert sands).

I'll have one of the characters from that story describe the premise of it in the next "chapter" after I do my final reviewer responses (any reviews after this I'll reply via PM, but I can only do this if they're signed as I have no way of reaching you on anon - so sorry about that guest reviewers! Know that I really enjoyed replying to you and would if I could!).

Again, thank you so much, and maybe I'll see you again in Desert Sands :)

 **Icfehr:** Ummm yikes I'm kind of disappointed in myself that I wasn't able to portray what happened clearly! You're right, one of them would have died (Vaati) because Sheik ended up getting the whole Triforce after using the arrow spell. BUT. Vaati ended up getting Courage (Lorule Triforce) for displaying courage in sacrifice, and was saved. I tried hinting a few times throughout the story that the Lorulean Courage was yet unclaimed, so it was an open possibility for him to get it. (I don't believe in plot armor or deus ex machinas, so I'm sad that that's what was conveyed here…)

As for the battle, I didn't want a battle to distract from what I wanted to be the main focus of the chapter, which was the relationship between Vaati and Sheik and the tragic decision they finally had to make. Maybe I could have made it 2 arrow shots…? I don't know, but I probably could have written it better to make the arrow sound much more powerful (it was a really epic arrow in my head, since it was fueled by not just 1, but 2 Triforces). Ah well. Something to think about in the future I suppose!

Anyways, thank you so much for being such a loyal reader all the way up to this point! Sometimes I wonder if people would drop a chapter, and when they keep coming back it always amazes me and makes me so happy, so thank you so much!

 **Vesperupus:** OK I HOPE this chapter remedied all the hurt. Because I may have promised you at one point that you'll like the ending despite all the murder I may include, and uhhhh (mumbles-I hope that was. okay. -laughs nervously-)  
But ;alksjdf;aj thank you so much for being such an amazing reader for all these readers like?! I am always overjoyed to see your name pop up in my inbox. So thank you thank you thank you so much and thank you for putting up with all the emotional wreckage I put you through.

 **AquilaMage:** We're done! And nothing makes me happier than to hear that you enjoyed being wrecked because that was one hundred percent what I was going for (but ahh hope this chapter made up for it?). I might write more warm and fuzzy epilogue with the gang that I couldn't fit into the main story here, to make up for all the depressing stuff I wrote in the last 2 chapters. These guys get their happy ending though, I'd say they deserve it. And again, thank you so much for sticking by me for so incredibly long. You're one of my most loyal readers and you're always there cheering in other places outside of here, so THANK YOU!

 **Serpent Tailed Angel:** They get a happy ending! I had trouble not making the happy ending too obvious, especially since I went into this wanting a happy ending for everyone. I'm not one hundred percent sure I did all that I could for this ending, but I'm just happy that I can say I finished. And I couldn't have done it as well without readers like you, so thank you so much! You've been with me since… gosh I don't know how long now, but I'm always happy to see your name :)

 **Lunamew:** I laughed out loud at your Farore comment XD I didn't even think of it that way until you said it, and now I'm just imagining Farore up there in the sky somewhere (idk where) screaming about a ship and Nayru and Din are just. So disappointed lol.

a;lskdjf DEV thank you so much for your support like seriously. All those little drawings you did for this story and all the times you came to just hang out at my sad little streams and just. You're amazing. Thank you. (!)


	23. Preview: Over the Desert Sands - Phact

IMPORTANT: this was a 2 chapter update! If you accidentally came here before reading the previous one, be sure to read the previous chapter first! This is a 'preview' chapter for my upcoming works :)

 _fleets_ : You know, I've had this 'tradition' of sorts for so long that it feels wrong not to do it again. And by 'tradition' I mean this thing I've done where I include a preview/snippet of whatever project I'm going to be working on next now that I'm done with this one.

This time, I'm going to be including a preview of a story I've already started, Over the Desert Sands. I feel it's appropriate to include this here not only because it's my next project, but because it ties into Demonbound Sheikah.

To put it clearly, it's an alternate world of sorts, or an alternate ending, to Demonbound. For those of you who've already glimpsed a little at the story, you'll recognize the speaker in this preview to be the Grand Scribe, Phact. This 'preview' is more of a prelude to how the Desert Sands world actually ties in with Demonbound (but you do not need to have read Demonbound to read this story. It's just… interesting information, I guess, to know how it ties together).

 _As a word of warning_ : This story is not for everyone. As in, most of my followers follow me for my Genfics, or adventure fics. Desert Sands is not your typical adventure fics. Actually, it's not an adventure fic at all, so if you go into it expecting lots of action and adventuring, beating up bad guys and saving the day, you'll be sorely disappointed.

This story is about the changing relationship between two characters (Sheik and Vaati) as they slowly learn about their past. Think of it as the Demonbound scenario with Vaati/Fuu, but this time you have two characters who are blind to what the other did (but the story is more relationship-focused than Demonbound/Soulbound was. I think. At least that's how it's currently planned).

* * *

 **Over the Desert Sands: Phact**

They call us gods.

I'm not fond of that title myself, as many of the gods take the title with arrogance and entitlement. Though, I've brought this up myself, and I've been mocked that I only see the gods as such because I think too much like the mortals.

It cannot be helped. I am tasked to write the history of the mortals after all, and I would not be able to write their stories if I cannot at least see the world as they do. I do not take offense to the fact that the others tell me that I, a god, am too much like the subjects I watch over.

My name is Phact. I am a god, or rather, a lesser god. We stand and serve the goddesses who created the world. Sometimes I wonder if we, the lesser gods, are even 'gods' or simply beings who are more powerful than normal mortals, but I have since stopped asking such questions after being reprimanded by the others.

I am the Grand Scribe. My only task is to write. I write the stories that impact the ages. Sometimes, when I have time to spare, I write the stories that seem to flicker and disappear on their own without making sweeping changes to the world, but are not any less important or interesting. The other gods sometimes seem to forget this, only taking interest in the stories of the Chosen Ones, but I will remember them. I will write them. (when I am able…)

It may sound like I am complaining about my other brethren, but I am not. I understand where they are coming from, and I understand that it may be fundamentally impossible for them to ever understand the things I see and the stories I hear. There is one, however, who seem to know what I speak of when I say that the small, quiet stories, the ones that are not about those bound by fate, are equally interesting and important. Of course, they don't understand me to the same degree (they at least acknowledge that these stories exist and take an interest in reading them, which is more than what the others would do). They also do not fawn over the Princess of Destiny or the Chosen Hero as much as the others.

Their name is Thuban. Thuban is, perhaps, the one other god who I probably should have never associated myself with. Recently I have become aware that they have an Idea, and from the glint in their eyes I know that it is one that may anger the others.

One does not want to anger gods, even if you are a god yourself.

Thuban became interested in two particular souls, one of which they had no business having an interest in as it was none other than the Champion of Wisdom, an individual who was protected by Nayru.

You see, I had already written the history of the Princess. Several different ones, in fact, all with a different ending of course, but all of them following a similar course set by Fate: the Princess is ultimately victorious in a fight against evil, and Hyrule follows peace. It is the same ending to all the stories involving either the holders of Wisdom or Courage. Fate rules it so.

But Thuban suggested something different. What if, they asked, there was one course involving Wisdom where Wisdom didn't win? What if something tricked Fate away from its job one day, and allowed the world's future to be left up to chance? Thuban always held some disdain towards Fate, mostly out of what they believed was Fate's favoritism towards some individuals over others. "Undeserved," they called it. I couldn't help but silently agree.

And that is how I came to follow the history of the world where Wisdom didn't win when it should have. I watched as history diverged from the one that I knew, and the Princess lost against the Sorcerer at the great battle where she should have won. If it had been up to Fate, the Princess in this particular story would have eventually become friends, and more, with the sorcerer. They would have even come together with those in the Dark World, and eventually led both worlds to a long period of peace.

But no, that is not what transpired in this divergent history. The Princess lost in that battle. She and the Sorcerer remained as enemies. Without Fate's protection, she was not guaranteed to win.

Now I write, for the first time, a story where I know not the ending for a Champion of Wisdom. It pains me to see such suffering that Thuban's meddling suggestion has caused, but I understand why they did it. And because I understand, though it upsets me and at times angers me, I cannot help but follow their story with my quill held in intrigued anticipation.

 _\- Grand Scribe Phact_


End file.
